Prince Harry met King Charles III at Clarence House on Wednesday evening for a private conversation that lasted just under an hour, and, a royal source told the Daily Mail, the duke pledged not to give interviews or brief journalists about what was discussed.
The meeting was the first face-to-face encounter between the two men in about 19 months. Harry arrived at Clarence House in a black Range Rover at about 5:20 p.m. and left around 6:15 p.m., according to witnesses and reports. The source described the encounter as an "important first step towards rebuilding their father-and-son relationship," but said there is "a long way to go" before trust between Harry and the wider family is restored.
After the meeting, Harry attended an Invictus Games reception at The Gherkin in the City of London, where he arrived later than scheduled and told attendees that the King was "great" when asked about their reunion. Harry, who founded the Invictus Games for wounded service personnel and veterans, opened his remarks on the organisation's next decade by stressing unity and rehabilitation through sport. Organisers said he arrived at the reception at about 7:24 p.m., having travelled directly from Clarence House and been delayed by central London traffic.
Harry has been on a series of solo charity visits during a four-day trip to the UK. His office said the Duke's Archewell Foundation had donated $500,000 (£370,000) to projects supporting injured children in Gaza and Ukraine. The grants, the office said, included $200,000 for World Health Organization medical evacuations from Gaza to Jordan, $150,000 to Save the Children for humanitarian support in Gaza, and $150,000 to Imperial College London's Centre for Blast Injury Studies to help develop prosthetics for injured children.
During the visit to Imperial's White City campus, Harry toured the Centre for Blast Injury Studies and met researchers and former service personnel, including double-leg amputee and centre ambassador Dave Henson. The centre said it is expanding work on paediatric blast injuries, noting children are at higher risk of death and severe harm in blast incidents. Harry has a long association with the centre, which he helped open in 2013 and which formed an early part of his work supporting injured veterans.
The Clarence House meeting followed a shorter encounter in February 2024, when Harry flew to the UK after the King announced a cancer diagnosis. That earlier visit lasted little more than 15 minutes, the sources said. The latest meeting comes amid longstanding tensions within the royal family dating to Harry and Meghan's decision to step back from senior royal duties in 2020 and to allegations and revelations that followed in Harry's memoir Spare and in media interviews and programmes.
Harry's public criticisms in recent years have included claims about his relationships with other senior family members. Those claims have been widely reported and contested in public statements by different parties. Harry has also been engaged in a legal dispute over the provision of publicly funded security while he is based in the United States, a matter he has said has affected communications with his father.
Prince William did not attend the Clarence House meeting. Palace officials did not comment on whether the Prince of Wales was informed in advance, and a royal source told the Daily Mail that William would likely have been aware the meeting was taking place. On Wednesday, the Prince of Wales carried out his own engagements in Wales, visiting a new mental health hub at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and meeting families and sporting figures as part of events marking World Suicide Prevention Day.
Royal aides for both sides were photographed together in London in July, in what was reported as an initial step to open channels of communication. Harry has said publicly that he would like reconciliation with his family, but has acknowledged that some members "will never forgive" him for material in his book and for public commentary.
Representatives for the King and for the Duke of Sussex did not immediately respond to requests for comment beyond the statements released by Harry's office about the charity donations and the Invictus engagements. The meeting at Clarence House and the subsequent public appearances underline Harry's continuing focus on veterans' causes and paediatric trauma research while efforts to repair strained family ties remain, according to those who have commented on the reunion.