The Wales children are unlikely to meet with their royal cousins when they return to England for the first time in four years.
With relations between brothers Prince William and Prince Harry still not thawing, it’s reported the three Wales children may not spend any time with Prince Archie or Princess Lilibet when they travel to England with their parents next month.
The Wales children are unlikely to meet their royal cousins next month. Getty Images
The BBC was among the first to report that Harry and Meghan would bring their two children when they travel to England to mark one year until the Invictus Games are held in Birmingham.
It will be the first time the Sussex children have been in England since June 2022, when they accompanied their parents on a trip to mark the late Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee.
Royal commentator Amanda Matta told Page Six overnight “there is no indication” the children will meet their royal cousins during the upcoming visit.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are said to be coming to the UK. Instagram/meghan
While there are conflicting reports about the state of the relationship between brothers William and Harry, Matta said that, regardless, the Wales children would be too busy to spend time with the Sussex children.
“Even if relations are gradually improving, the Wales household likely has a full schedule already in place for the summer, and any reunion involving the cousins would require tonnes of planning and goodwill from all parties involved,” Matta said.
The Wales children met Prince Archie, then known as Archie Mountbatten-Windor, prior to his family’s relocation to the US at the start of 2020, but have reportedly never met his younger sister.
Princess Lilibet was born in the US in June 2021, and has only returned to the UK once, in June 2022, with her parents.
The Sussex children were kept out of the public eye during their last visit.
It later emerged, Harry and Meghan threw Lilibet a lavish first birthday party at their former home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, with the couple sharing images from the day on their Instagram account.
But neither King Charles or the Wales family attended the gathering.
Most royal insiders maintain that neither the Prince or Princess of Wales nor their three children have met their niece or cousin.
Harry and Meghan returned to the UK without their children in September 2022 for a series of engagements, which ended up coinciding with the death of Queen Elizabeth after an historic 70-year reign.
Her death resulted in the Sussexes delaying their return to the US.
The Wales and Sussexes were last seen together in 2022 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Getty
That visit included several public meetings between the brothers, including a much-publicised walkabout with their wives to view floral tributes to their grandmother, but many royal commentators have commented on the icy reception between the foursome.
Page Six reported this week that King Charles offered the Sussex family the use of a royal residence during their stay in the UK.
Numerous reports suggest the King plans to meet with his youngest son and family in private during their visit.
However, most royal watchers agree it is unlikely Harry and William, or their families, will meet.
Matta told Page Six the relationship between the two brothers was the most fractured within the royal family.
“William has been the holdout for years, viewing Harry’s betrayal as unforgivable,” Matta said. “I think it is almost impossible to draw any conclusions about a reconciliation between Harry and William at this stage.”
The royal foursome in happier times. Samir Hussein/WireImage
The Sussexes sojourn to the UK will be a welcome break from work for Harry and Meghan, who are forging careers in the US, both as entrepreneurs and in the entertainment world.
One of their latest projects through their production company Archewell Productions, is a film adaptation of the novel, Meet Me at the Lake.
The book’s author, Carley Fortune, gave an update on the project during a recent episode of the podcast Open Book with Jenna.
She told host Jenna Bush Hager she decided to work with the royal couple after a “really good, long call” with Meghan and film producer Tracy Ryerson.
“I felt like they really understood the story and what mattered about the story,” the author said, per People.
Harry and Meghan have forged a new life in the US. Emmanuel Osodi/Anadolu
“It’s a romance, but it’s very much about a mother and daughter too, and we talked a lot about parenthood and also about how these love stories are about so much more.
“It’s a story about grief, it’s a story about mental health, and so I felt like it was in good hands with them.”
When the deal with Archewell Productions and Netflix was announced, many commentators pointed out the book is set in Toronto, Canada, where Meghan lived when she started dating Prince Harry.