Prince Harry has arrived in the U.K. to attend a special event but reportedly won’t be seeing his father King Charles III. This has sparked strong reactions of disappointment among users on the social media.
The Duke of Sussex has arrived in his home country to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. In addition to the fact that Prince Harry is in the U.K. to commemorate the competition’s inauguration for wounded and ailing veterans which happened 10 years ago, news outlets have also reported that he will not be visiting the King of England.
“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not The Duke will meet with his father while in the U.K. this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full program,” announced a spokesperson for Prince Harry.
The statement went on to explain, “The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.” A media outlet reported that King Charles III has a busy schedule because he recently returned to his public royal duties.
Since working behind the scenes amid his cancer diagnosis and treatment, King Charles III held an audience at Buckingham Palace yesterday, where the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, was welcomed. Further occupying the King’s time is the premiere garden party of the season, which is set to take place at Buckingham Palace today (May 8).
Prince Harry, like his father, is also booked and busy. His time in the UK has been spent on the Invictus Games’ anniversary which kicked off with a panel yesterday. Today, St. Paul’s Cathedral will host a service where Prince Harry is expected to give a reading.
The social media users have reacted with shock and outrage to the news that Prince Harry and King Charles III will not see each other during this time. Many people expressed disappointment in the King. “That’s absolutely unforgivable, that a Dad can’t prioritize his son. King or not!!!” chastised a social media user.
Similarly, someone else expressed, “Harry deserves better. Shame on #KingCharles. He treated #PrincessDiana terrible as well. #TheWholeWorldIsWatching.” “Shameful… but Prince Harry can sleep well at night. He has reached out numerous times,” commented another.
Continuing to highlight the tumultuous nature of the late Princess Diana’s relationship with King Charles III, another user noted, “Charles is who Diana said he was 🙃.” Another King Charles III critic called him “petty.”
A Facebooker wrote, “As a parent I can’t imagine not being able to pencil my child into my schedule.” “I can’t imagine anything more important than getting to spend some time with a child that you really don’t see very often,” added another.
Someone else who felt particularly strongly about the matter stated, “Sadly, his father chooses his position over his family. His father has made it very clear where his love is. If he really wanted to see his son he would and could. This whole situation clearly shows that it is all about him and his ‘control over others.’”
It has been confirmed that the reason for the father and son not meeting up during Prince Harry’s recent U.K. visit is due to scheduling conflicts, but it remains no secret that amid recent times, relationships between British royal family members have been tense. It is public knowledge that Prince Harry and his dad have not necessarily seen eye to eye for some time.
Even when the Duke of Sussex had flown to London to visit the King after hearing about his cancer diagnosis, Prince Harry and King Charles III’s meeting was reportedly very brief. In addition, reports stated that the Prince opted to stay in a lavish hotel as opposed to with his family, which we previously reported on February 8, 2024.
Grant Harrold, the King of England’s former butler, said that Prince Harry did so as a way to show his family that he could financially support himself without their help. According to a media outlet, Grant and King Charles III had a working relationship spanning seven years. At the time, the King of England was still the Prince of Wales.
Grant shared that Prince Harry opted for the hotel because he wanted to prove that he was “grown up enough to fund himself.” The King’s former butler then went on to say, “It’s strange he’s not staying at any royal residences because obviously, when they were growing up, they had rooms at Clarence House and at Highgrove.”
Grant added that Prince Harry’s choice did not make sense security-wise. Since stepping down from his royal role, news sources have stipulated that the Duke of Sussex has been traveling with his own security team.
On this and the status of Prince Harry’s familial relationships, Grant explained, “Obviously, it’s not the best sign if he’s staying at a hotel, because you’d have thought he’d possibly stay with his brother [Prince William] and sister-in-law [Kate Middleton] potentially, or at one of his father’s homes.” He went on to note, “If there is an ongoing fallout between him and his brother, it’s possible that he may not have been given the offer to stay.”
Regarding Prince Harry’s visit, a media outlet reported that King Charles III was allegedly unpleased as his travel plans were delayed in waiting for his son’s arrival. Apparently, the King had plans to travel to Norfolk for tranquility.
Though many speculations surfaced concerning why Prince Harry’s visit with the King was so brief, Richard Fitzwilliams, a British expert set the record straight. He mentioned that because the father-son meet-up happened at a time when King Charles III had started treatment, he may have just been tired, prompting the brevity of the meeting.