After the Royal Family sent birthday wishes to Prince Harry, many saw it as an olive branch from his father King Charles but one expert says a previous birthday phone call left the monarch ‘really disappointed’
Prince Harry’s imminent trip to the UK has left many wondering whether a meeting with his estranged father King Charles could be on the cards.
It has been officially announced that in his role as patron of the WellChild charity, the Duke of Sussex will be attending its annual awards ceremony in London later this month on September 30. And his trip will come just weeks after the royals made the surprise move of sending public birthday wishes to Harry when he turned 40 last week.
Much has been made of the relationship between father and son, especially in the aftermath of the release of Harry’s controversial memoir Spare, where he railed against his family and revealed things about them in some of their most private moments.
On the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential show, royal editor Rebecca English says that Charles remains angry but will always be open to reconciliation with his son. However, when wondering whether the pair spoke when Harry turned 40, she said the aftermath of a phone call left the King “really disappointed”.
She explained: “Charles is angry and he is hurt but he is still his son at the end of the day, which is why it’s always been said as much as he is keeping distance at the moment, he will never entirely shut that door to him.
“One thing I did find out is how really disappointed the King was back in November when Harry did call him to wish him not just a happy 75th birthday but also his children did a little video singing happy birthday to the grandpa they barely even see.
“And within hours of that happening that was leaked from the Sussex side to favoured media and that really crossed the line in the sand for the Royal Family because so very little of their lives is genuinely private. So much is lived in public or even surrounded by staff watching everything they do. So private conversations, particularly private phone calls are really considered just that.”
And t here is currently one sign that shows that father and son are unlikely to meet despite both being in the UK – and it is down to the King’s schedule. Just days before the WellChild Awards on September 28, Charles and Queen Camilla will attend the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to mark its 25th anniversary.
According to The Telegraph, the King is likely to spend the days after the engagement north of the border in Scotland. Harry’s event is in London, meaning they will be hundreds of miles apart – although there is still time for plans to be made to faciliate a meeting between the pair.
Harry was last in the UK several weeks ago to attend the funeral of his late uncle Lord Robert Fellowes, the husband of Princess Diana’s sister Lady Jane Fellowes. On that occasion, he did not meet up with his dad, although the event was also attended by Prince William – but the two warring brothers are said not to have spoken to each other.
Before that, Harry was in the UK in May for a 10th-anniversary service for the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with the King also in the capital on the same day. It had been hoped that father and son were on the road to begin repairing their rift, especially after they met when Harry dashed to the UK after it was announced that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer in February.
However, eyebrows were raised at the time, with a statement from Harry suggesting his father was too busy to see him and reports later claiming the King had offered his son a place to stay in a royal residence.