Singer Joss Stone was reunited with Prince Harry at the WellChild Awards in London on Monday, three years after she said the pair had fallen out of contact.
Stone, 38, who met Harry at a Prince’s Trust fundraiser in 2005 and has worked with his former charity Sentebale, posed for photographs alongside the duke and other attendees at the ceremony held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. Harry, the Duke of Sussex, who returned to the United Kingdom this week for a series of engagements, is the long-standing patron of WellChild and was scheduled to present an award.
Stone attended the awards in a black lace gown and was photographed with Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and his wife, Sally Wood. The Woods and other entertainers, including Peter Andre with his wife Emily, were among the celebrities in attendance at the event, which supports children and families affected by serious and terminal illness.
Stone told reporters in 2022 that she hoped to see Harry again after they had lost touch; she had travelled to Lesotho for Sentebale and described becoming "deep into" the charity’s work. Sentebale, which Harry co-founded, was one of several causes with which he has been closely involved; he stepped back from that charity earlier this year.
Harry’s current visit to the UK spans four days of official engagements, his longest trip since 2022 when he and Meghan Markle last returned following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Organizers said his itinerary includes a visit to a Community Recording Studio in Nottingham, where his team said he would announce a "substantial donation" to Children in Need to support its work addressing youth violence. He also has scheduled appearances connected to the Invictus Games and the Diana Award.
The duke’s return has prompted renewed attention to whether he will meet other senior royals during this trip. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether King Charles will meet Harry, who has not seen his father in public in recent months. Charles, who has been spending time at his Scottish residence in Birkhall, is due in London this week for cancer treatment; royal officials have not confirmed any meeting. William, the Prince of Wales, has official engagements scheduled on each day of Harry’s visit.
Harry travelled to Britain alone this week and was escorted from Heathrow in a Range Rover before visiting Windsor Castle to pay private respects at St. George’s Chapel. He was last in the UK in April for a legal appeal contesting the level of police protection he receives while in Britain; Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos dismissed that appeal, saying the duke’s sense of grievance did not constitute a legal argument.
WellChild, which provides practical and emotional support to seriously ill children and their families, has counted Harry as patron for 17 years. The awards ceremony is a regular fixture in the duke’s charitable calendar and drew entertainers and public figures who came to honour recipients and highlight the charity’s work.
Stone attended Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018 at Windsor Castle. The reunion at the awards follows years of intermittent public contact between the singer and the duke, reflecting a broader pattern of evolving ties among members of the royal family and their longtime acquaintances as Harry continues to balance public engagements in Britain with his life in California.
Harry’s itinerary for the rest of the week includes additional charity visits and events; his office said those engagements will proceed as planned and will include public announcements tied to fundraising and community projects.