King Charles III met with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on Friday, marking the first time the king has seen his younger son’s family in years.
According to Buckingham Palace, the king and Queen Camilla hosted Harry, Meghan and their children at Highgrove House, their private estate in Gloucestershire, west of London.
It was the first time King Charles had seen his grandchildren in more than four years. Harry and Meghan had not been in the U.K. together since 2022, when they attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Duke of Sussex arrived in London last week for a week of charity engagements, and there had been widespread media reports that Meghan and the couple’s children might join him.
The children were not expected to attend any public events, but Meghan had initially been scheduled to join her husband at the Invictus Games countdown on Friday. However, a dispute with the U.K. government over Harry’s security arrangements seemed to suggest the prospect of Meghan coming to the U.K. at all was remote.
The developments follow years of fractured family relations between the royals. More recently, Harry has spoken more warmly about bridging the divide with his father — and his children’s grandfather — the king.
Strained relations
Relations between Harry and the royal family have remained poor since he and Meghan stepped back as working royals in 2020 and relocated to California.
The divide was laid bare during the couple’s televised interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, in which Meghan said she had been denied professional help by the palace while feeling suicidal when pregnant with Archie. The couple also said a member of the royal household had asked how dark their unborn son’s skin would be. As damaging racism claims swirled, Queen Elizabeth II released a pointed statement expressing concern for the couple, but adding that “some recollections may vary.”
Harry’s memoir, Spare, published in 2023, did little to calm the choppy waters. It contained intimate accounts of family disagreements and criticism of the monarchy’s relationship with the British press, writing that he and his brother, Prince William, asked their father not to marry Camilla, and that they blamed her in part for the breakdown of their parents’ marriage.
Prince Harry’s memoir Spare sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
(NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Harry also accused William of physically attacking him, writing that William pushed him to the ground during a dispute about Meghan, calling her “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.” Harry says he did not retaliate and that William later apologized.
When he was pressed on whether he regretted sharing his side of the story last September, he told the Guardian, “My conscience is clear.”
In recent months, Harry appears to have sought to mend some of the family rift — with his father at least. Speaking to the BBC last year, the prince said: “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious.”
In September 2025, Harry and Charles held a private tea at Clarence House, their first in‑person meeting in 19 months. Reports suggested the frostiness with his father was beginning to thaw. Both sides kept details closely guarded, but Harry later described reports that the reunion was cold as “categorically false,” saying the meeting was warm and emotional.
Any future meetings with the king would be particularly significant as the monarch’s treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer continues.
There has, however, been little public indication of any breakthrough in Harry’s relationship with his brother. The pair were seen together at the funeral for their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in 2022. But there has been no public interaction since, even at Charles’s coronation in 2023, when Harry left shortly afterward, without any publicly visible interaction with his brother.
How the surprise reunion came together
Meghan had not been expected to bring the children to the U.K. at all. As recently as July 4, People reported that the family would not be joining Harry because the U.K. government had denied his request for police protection for them outside royal residences. Harry was reportedly “frantically” working to secure private security to make the trip possible.
By Friday, the plans had shifted. The family flew in from an unspecified European destination, according to the U.K.’s PA news agency. Harry, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet met with the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, Charles’s private country estate in Gloucestershire. The visit was deemed private, and no photos will be released.
The Sussex family was believed to be staying at Althorp House, the childhood home of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, and the site of her grave, according to The Mirror. The estate, in West Northamptonshire, sits within easy reach of both London and Birmingham.
Long-running security dispute
But it’s not just familial strains that have proven an obstacle to any thawing of relations. Harry says that practical issues have caused significant problems as well.
One of the biggest issues surrounding any return by the Sussexes to Britain remains a long-running dispute over security.
Since stepping back as a working royal, Harry has argued that he and his family should continue to receive taxpayer-funded police protection when they visit the U.K. British authorities have maintained that because he is no longer a working royal, his security should instead be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The Times of London reported in 2021 that Harry had been warned that taxpayer-funded security could not be guaranteed if he stepped back from his official royal duties.
The trip has been marked by other complications. Harry’s spokesperson said an offer for the Duke of Sussex to stay at Buckingham Palace during his London visit had been withdrawn after he formally accepted it, Page Six reported. Palace sources disputed that account, saying Harry failed to respond by the deadline and that his later acceptance came only after arrangements could no longer be made.
The issue became more complicated in 2023 when King Charles asked Harry and Meghan to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their home on the Windsor estate. Yahoo reported at the time that losing Frogmore (the family’s only permanent royal residence in Britain) increased their reliance on private accommodation and complicated any ad hoc security arrangements whenever they returned.
The Sussexes were asked to leave Frogmore Cottage.
(GOR via Getty Images)
The disagreement over security has resulted in years of legal action against the U.K. government.
The king has reportedly refused to intervene, classifying it as a matter for the government.
What about Archie and Lilibet?
Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, may have royal titles, but they are growing up in California with seemingly little connection to the British royal family.
They have spent very little time with King Charles since Harry and Meghan relocated to California, and Friday’s visit provided a rare opportunity for them to see their grandfather, who had not seen them since June 2022, during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Meghan and Prince Harry leave St. Paul’s Cathedral during the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.
(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
In a BBC interview in May of last year, Harry expressed hopes of a reconciliation with his family, revealing Charles would not speak to him because of an ongoing legal battle with the U.K. government about his security arrangements, in which Harry has consistently said he and his family need official protection given their status in the royal line of succession.
Harry added: “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point, and the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything, you know.”
By September, his attitude had shifted, and he seemed significantly more open to forging a connection between his father and his children.
This has reportedly become especially important to Harry since his father’s cancer diagnosis. While Buckingham Palace has not confirmed what type of cancer he is facing or the stage of its development, the king announced in December 2025 that his cancer treatment would be significantly reduced thanks to a positive response to treatment and early diagnosis.
While Harry only speaks about his father in veiled terms, in September 2025, he said that in the coming year, the “focus really has to be on my dad.”
He also expressed a desire to bring his children to the U.K. one day, despite the issues over security arrangements and the reported royal rift.
“I have always loved the U.K., and I always will love the U.K.,” he told the Guardian. “It’s been good to reconnect with the causes I am passionate about. I have been able to spend some time with people that I have known for so long. It is hard to do it from far away.”