Charles and Harry finally saw each other after 19 months
King Charles and Prince Harry(Image: Getty Images)
King Charles and Prince Harry finally reunited this week, ending speculation about whether the father and son would meet.
It was the first time in 19 months that the monarch had seen the Duke of Sussex.
They spent about 50 minutes together at Clarence House, chatting over a pot of tea.
Although what was discussed remains unknown, it is unlikely Charles would have agreed to the meeting without some cast-iron guarantee that Harry would keep quiet.
The meeting is an early step towards any reconciliation between the pair.
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Charles is understood to be eager to rebuild his relationship with his son and get to know his grandchildren, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.
According to insiders, the meeting was only possible due to a key advisor within the House of Windsor, the Scottish Daily Express reports.
Theo Rycroft is half of one of the UK’s most powerful couples and a former diplomat based in Paris.
He was selected as Charles’ new deputy private secretary, working alongside private secretary Sir Clive Alderton – a man known to Harry as ‘The Wasp’.
Sir Clive is a member of the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) which Harry claimed singled him out for ‘unjustified and inferior treatment’ over his security arrangements after he stepped down as a senior working royal.
Reports previously suggested Sir Clive was considering stepping down.
In his memoir Spare, the Duke accused him of being ‘great at pretending to be polite, even servile’.
Explaining the ‘Wasp’ nickname, Harry said Sir Clive would ‘put you on his list’ and ‘give you such a stab with his outsized stinger that you’d cry out in confusion’.
In contrast, Rycroft is said take a softer approach.
He joined Charles on his trip to Italy earlier this year and was present with Prince William at the ceremony for the re-opening of Notre Dame in 2024 in his role as Deputy Chief of Mission – a role that also saw him play a key position for the UK at the Paris Olympics.
Rycroft took over from Chris Fitzgerald, who was important in advising the King through his ascension and coronation.
At the time of Rycroft’s appointment, a source told the Daily Mail: “Theo is a terrific appointment, bringing a wealth of experience from his time in Paris – not least helping with the phenomenal success of Their Majesties’ crucial State Visit to France and the Prince of Wales’s recent meeting with President Trump.”
Rycroft, an Oxford graduate, started his diplomatic career in 2009 and has held roles including EU director, head of the EU exit strategy, legal adviser to the Prime Minister at Downing Street, head of international and EU law and well as head of constitutional law at the Attorney General’s Office.
In his private life, he is one half of Britain’s most powerful couples.
He is married to the Hon Flora Astor, of the famous and wealthy Astor dynasty.
A half sister to Samantha Cameron, wife of former Prime Minister David Cameron, Lady Flora is a qualified gemologist and private jeweller.
The Astor clan was once the richest family in the USA.
Queen Camilla’s daughter Laura married into the Astors when she wed Harry Marcus George Lopes.
The most famous member was John Jacob Astor IV, who died aboard the Titanic in 1912.
Last year, Tatler magazine named the couple in its ‘social power index’.
It said: “The chicest place to rest your head during the Olympics? The Gatehouse at the British Embassy in Paris.
“Home to deputy ambassador Theo Rycroft and his wife, Flora (née Astor), it’s the epitome of style. Be sure to pack your heels – dinner is a grand affair.”
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