While the monarch did not see his son or grandchildren during his US visit, one royal expert believes the Duke of Sussex would be ‘quietly proud’ of one major aspect of the King’s stateside trip
Prince Harry with King Charles(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
King Charles has wrapped his whirlwind trip the United States, in which he and Queen Camilla attended back-to-back engagements in Washington DC, Virginia and New York over four days. While it was the King’s first time in America for many years, he did not journey to the West Coast to see his estranged son Prince Harry, or his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet.
Harry’s relationship with his father remains strained, as the pair have only seen each other a handful of times in recent years. The last time the father and son met face-to-face was in September last year, when the Duke of Sussex was in London for the annual WellChild awards.
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Prince Harry and King Charles’ relationship has been strained for several years(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
It had been established months before Charles embarked on his US trip that he would not have a chance to see his son, daughter-in-law Meghan Markle or their children during his state visit.
However, former BBC royal commentator Jennie Bond believes Harry would have had conflicting feelings over seeing the King’s highly publicised trip in the country he has called home for over six years.
Jennie told the Mirror : “I don’t think it would have been any surprise to Harry that there was no opportunity to see his father during the state visit. But it must have been a rather surreal experience to watch his dad being feted in the country which is now Harry‘s home, and yet not to see him.
Last week, Charles spent four days in the US on a state visit(Image: AP)
“Of course, in reality, they were still thousands of miles apart and the two of them have not even met when they’ve been within a mile of one another in London. So it was never going to happen.”
The royal expert believes that there is still the possibility of the father and son mending their relationship, but it would likely be behind closed doors as they build bridges after years of estrangement. “Their relationship is still strained and, if and when a further meeting happens, I’m sure it won’t be in such a public arena as this exceptionally high profile visit,” Jennie explained.
While Harry has not been a working royal since 2020, he and his father have many shared interests and passions as they both carry out similar charity work. However, Jennie believes that Harry watching his father carry out such philanthropic work in his home country may have felt surreal.
Charles did not visit his son or grandchildren during his rare stateside trip(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
She said: “Harry is on record as saying he believes his father and brother are trapped in their royal existence. And, only last week, he said how important it was to have the right to hold truth to power and to say what he believes. So he may have felt rather conflicted watching the King in action.
“On the one hand, he probably felt that the President didn’t deserve all the reflected glory of having the King and Queen at the White House. But I think he would’ve been quietly proud of the way Charles skilfully delivered some quite pointed and political ripostes to the things Trump has been saying.
“Harry stands united with his father on the need to support Ukraine, for example. And he would have appreciated his father‘s nuanced putdown of Trump‘s insults about British service men and women and our naval power.”
During the visit, President Trump did not miss the opportunity to sling an insult at Meghan Markle – with whom he has been engaged in a war of words online for several years, as well as Harry – and Jennie believes this dig would’ve only further solidified Harry’s desire to not be a part of the Royal Family.
Jennie said: “Of course, outside the immediate environs of the visit, it has offered Trump the opportunity to sling a few more insults in the Sussex‘s direction – particularly at Meghan. And that will have further antagonised the couple.
“So, whilst the visit has undoubtedly gone some way to improving relations between the United States and the UK, it has done nothing to help the relationship between the President and Harry and Meghan.”
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