Harry’s tea with Charles might be ‘small’ step to reconciliation

Prince Harry has met his father King Charles at Clarence House in London on Wednesday for his or her first nose to nose assembly since February 2024.

The clues have been scattered far and wide in current months.

In his BBC interview in May, there was a definite shift in tone from the prince.

After the years of uncooked, emotional media appearances, the Netflix documentary sequence, the searing criticism of the royal household in his memoir Spare, this was a unique Prince Harry in entrance of the cameras.

“I would love a reconciliation with my family,” he stated. “There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious.”

Prince Harry had made his place clear. He wished to see his father however was the King feeling the identical method?

{A photograph} within the Mail on Sunday in July confirmed the media communications group representing Prince Harry assembly in London with the King’s communications director. Two rival camps coming collectively and the picture discovering its method onto the entrance web page of a nationwide newspaper.

Both sides denied leaking the picture however what it did was present there was a dialogue. A channel of communication between each camps had opened.

And there was a unified silence from each side in current days that has additionally been telling.

Neither facet can be drawn on a date or time of any reunion.

We have been making educated guesses on when father and son may meet primarily based on gaps of their diaries and who was planning to be the place geographically.

In a household fallout riddled with distrust and rancour, the 2 camps stayed very tight lipped about the opportunity of a gathering.

Their mutual silence held.

Prince Harry has been in the UK this week for charity events, however has known as the US house since 2020.

He has not seen King Charles in particular person since February 2024. The final time that they have been collectively was quickly after the King’s most cancers prognosis when Prince Harry got here to the UK for a quick assembly.

When the reunion lastly occurred on Wednesday afternoon each Buckingham Palace and Prince Harry’s group have been aligned afterwards by way of stressing to the media that there can be no remark or steerage on the element of conversations had on the assembly.

The Palace later confirmed that the King had a personal tea along with his son that lasted about 50 minutes, throughout a go to to the royal residence.

Afterwards he stated of the King “yes, he’s great” in response to reporters’ questions.

It all simply felt like one thing had barely shifted.

If Prince Harry had left the UK with out seeing his father, it was onerous to see how that relationship can be rebuilt.

It would have been damaging for each side.

What occurs subsequent is extra unsure. We are method off any full household reconciliation.

There have been no indicators of Prince Harry assembly Prince William throughout this week, with the brothers finishing up separate preparations.

Prince Harry leaves the UK right this moment. We do not know when he’ll be again.

He departs having sat in a room along with his father over a cup of tea for the primary time in additional than a yr and a half.

Making peace could be a lengthy and and bumpy highway. These are small however important steps.