King Charles III would not want to turn down a request for a meeting from Prince Harry both “as a parent” and to get an update on his grandchildren, a royal author has told Newsweek.
The Duke of Sussex is due to appear at the WellChild awards in London on September 8, creating a potential opportunity for him to see his father.
However, the situation may be more complex than that, as September 8 is the anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and for the last two years Charles has spent it in Scotland, where she died.
Split image of King Charles III, left, and Prince Harry.
Split image of King Charles III, left, and Prince Harry.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images and Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
Ingrid Seward, author of My Mother and I, told Newsweek, she felt a meeting would likely go ahead, but Harry would need to be willing to travel up to Scotland.
“My opinion is that Harry desperately needs the stardust of meeting his father,” Seward said. “He needs the glow of being the king’s son to shine on him.
“I think Harry would be very keen to meet his father and as a parent I would think Charles would probably like to see him.
“Because Charles isn’t seeing his grandchildren that must be really sad for him and if a meeting can be arranged without too much drama, he will see Harry.”
Harry is unlikely to have Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, with him, but any meeting would still be an opportunity for Charles to catch up on how they have been getting on.
A trip to see Charles in Scotland would, however, require an invitation from the monarch, with the prince likely having to deal with the king’s aides in an effort to arrange it.
Seward said she felt aides might even want to sit in on the meeting in case details of the conversation were to emerge in the media: “I don’t think Charles would be against meeting him, but I don’t think he’ll meet him alone. I would think there would be an aide there.”
Seward said Elizabeth had the same policy while Princess Diana was leaving the royal family in the early 1990s: “When she was having these meetings with the Queen round about the time of her divorce, the queen always had someone in there with them because Diana would go and talk to the press. It was exactly the same.”
Meanwhile, brand and culture expert Nick Ede told Newsweek not brokering a reconciliation could also have PR consequences for Harry.
“I think it will be viewed quite negatively in America,” he said. “People like reconciliation. From a Harry point of view we all know King Charles is getting older, he’s been ill. We know Harry is coming for the WellChild awards.
“They should have some kind of reconciliation and if there isn’t one, then that will send a signal that this is not going to be resolved in any way, shape or form.
“That could potentially be negative for Harry. I don’t think it would be for Charles, he’ll just carry on, but I don’t think he would want that. I think he would want some sort of reconciliation.”
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