Prince Harry said King Charles III was “great” after the two met for the first time in more than a year, offering a brief public update as he attended a reception for the Invictus Games in London on Wednesday.
The Duke of Sussex was photographed arriving at Clarence House earlier in the day for what was described as a private tea with the king. The meeting reportedly lasted just under an hour; Harry left the royal residence and shortly afterwards appeared at the Invictus Games reception, where he told reporters, “Yes he’s great, thank you,” before thanking them and moving on to greet sponsors and officials.
Photographs published by media outlets showed the duke arriving in a black SUV for the meeting at Clarence House. The encounter marked the first formal in-person meeting between Charles, 76, and his son since they were last seen together more than a year ago. Sources said the meeting ran longer than a previous 30-minute conversation in February 2024 following the king’s announcement that he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
The visit came as part of a series of contacts between the estranged family members in recent months. Harry, 40, and his wife Meghan Markle stepped back from senior royal duties in 2020 and subsequently gave interviews and published a memoir that detailed tensions with the royal household. The couple relocated to California and publicly recounted disputes with senior royals.
The father-and-son relationship has also been complicated by a legal dispute over the duke’s security arrangements while visiting the United Kingdom. Harry has argued he was treated unfairly after his publicly funded security was withdrawn and has contended that the matter could be resolved at a senior level.
Both sides have made gestures toward repair. Harry attended the WellChild Awards in London on Sept. 8, the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, and some outlets reported that the recent Clarence House meeting was intended as a step toward reconciliation. “For the first time in a long time, there’s a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach,” a source told The Mirror, while cautioning that wider family issues had not been resolved.
A representative for the duke did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Buckingham Palace has not issued a formal statement about the meeting.
Royal experts say private meetings between senior family members are often used to test whether differences can be narrowed before broader reconciliation is attempted. The meeting on Wednesday will be closely watched for any indication of further contact between Charles and his elder son, including whether other senior royals will be included in future discussions.
Neither Harry nor the palace provided details of the topics discussed during the tea. Media accounts said the conversation lasted less than an hour and was followed by the duke’s public engagement, during which he was photographed mingling with corporate sponsors and government officials in a buoyant mood.
The reunion is the latest development in a long-running rift that has drawn sustained public and media attention and will likely shape public expectations about the future of relations within the royal family.