Just over a year on from Prince Harry publicly declaring he’d “love” a reconciliation with his family, the Sussex family still hasn’t visited the UK all together. However, royal author Ingrid Seward doesn’t believe that a royal invite from King Charles is totally off the table for Harry, Meghan and their children this summer.
It would mean going a little further afield than Clarence House, though, as she thinks that Balmoral Castle in Scotland is the “only” place this meeting could happen.
“The only place that really I think they could meet if the King is to get to know or at least see his grandchildren, is at Balmoral,” Ingrid claimed to The Mirror. “It’s the only time the King has time and the Sussexes could be accommodated there because there’s lots of cottages on the Estate.”
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The last time Archie and Lilibet were in the UK was in 2022 and Lili turned one during the trip. Four years later and that’s still the only time she’s met King Charles in person, so he’d no doubt be delighted to spend more time with her and Archie if they fly over.
As Ingrid mentioned, His Majesty has more free time than usual when he’s at Balmoral as he usually goes there in August for his annual summer break. During this time he carries on with certain royal duties but public engagements are pretty much paused for the whole Royal Family.
Balmoral Castle is set on a 50,000 acre estate and Ingrid explained that Harry and Meghan “don’t have to stay in the castle”, although they “would expect to, but that’s fine”. She also believes the couple would “make sure” that their visit wouldn’t coincide with the Prince and Princess of Wales going up to Scotland to see the King.
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Whilst Charles and Harry have seen each other privately in the past few years, relations between William and his brother are as distant as ever. However, Ingrid thinks it’s “not that difficult” for the two families to avoid each other, so a possible Sussex visit “can be done fairly under the radar”.
Because Balmoral closes to the public over King Charles’s summer break and he’s generally not doing engagements, there’s a lot more privacy up there for him and photographs are rarely taken. King Charles still has his round-the-clock security too which might give Harry and Meghan reassurance about Archie and Lilibet’s safety whilst they’re there.
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Out of all the royal residences, Balmoral was said to be the late Queen Elizabeth’s favourite home and she also spent her summers there, hosting various members of her wider family. Meghan, Archie and Lili have still never been to the castle but Prince Harry considers it a very special place to him.
“To me, Balmoral was always simply Paradise. A cross between Disney World and some sacred Druid grove,” he wrote in Spare.
If King Charles does invite the family to join him at the Balmoral estate – and Harry and Meghan accept – then perhaps Archie and Lilibet can experience some of what their dad did as a child. It would also be a massive step for the royals after everything that’s happened, so keeping it “under the radar” might be easier said than done.