Harry and Meghan have swapped the Californian coast for the quiet lanes of the Cotswolds. The trip was billed partly as a romantic getaway and partly as a chance to see King Charles III. But according to reports, the Duke of Sussex has not yet been in the same room as his father.
That doesn’t mean the two have been out of touch. Harry has reportedly spoken to the King on several occasions, yet none of those exchanges has turned into a face-to-face meeting.
The couple’s stay has still had its family moments. They reportedly spent time at Balmoral Castle, where Harry’s estranged brother, Prince William, joined them along with Princess Catherine and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The King and Queen are still based in Scotland, though they have been travelling to London for meetings. They are also due to head to the Caribbean on a tour beginning October 27, so the Sussexes may have a wait ahead of them before a sit-down becomes possible.
Harry is said to be hoping for a warmer, more private bond with his father, one that plays out away from the cameras. Sources say the King and Queen are unhappy when details of their meetings leak, which makes the discreet reconnection Harry wants harder to achieve.
Relations haven’t been helped by a new book from Harry’s uncle, Charles Spencer, about his late sister, Diana. Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is currently topping the book charts, and sources say Spencer was paid a remarkable £4 million for it.
One passage has caused particular trouble. In it, Spencer claims that after Diana died in 1997, Charles hissed down the phone that she would soon be forgotten. The King’s representatives have denied the allegation, and it is said to have gone down badly with him.
Another source says Harry, 42, and Meghan, 45, had spent the past few years mulling a return to the UK. This week, Harry spoke candidly about the fallout from “Megxit” in March 2020. He said he “slipped into depression for two weeks” and felt a “crash unlike anything I’d ever felt before.”
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He added that he felt “useless” after he and Meghan dramatically walked away from royal duties and from Britain, relocating to British Columbia.
The final decision to leave their Montecito mansion was reportedly made after a summer holiday. That break included a get-together where Charles, 77, saw his grandchildren, as well as a trip to Althorp, the ancestral home of Diana’s family. With the children needing school places, the couple had to move fast.
The Sussexes settled back in the UK in late August, after six years in North America. They call the move an “extended stay” with their children and say they plan to live as an “international family,” keeping their homes in both California and Portugal.
Since arriving, they have been seen catching up with friends. Among them are their former California neighbours, Ellen DeGeneres, 68, and Portia de Rossi, 53, with whom they were pictured at another pub in the Cotswolds.