by Prince Harry fled his home in California to the United Kingdom on Tuesday after his father revealed his cancer diagnosis to his youngest son over the phone.
The long journey took the Duke of Sussex more than 11 hours, but his meeting with the King at Clarence House in London reportedly lasted less than an hour. Various newspaper reports say the meeting was only 30 or 45 minutes long.
The 39-year-old prince’s visit was expected to help repair damaged relations between himself, his father and his brother the Prince of Wales. But it seems unlikely that Harry will see Prince William before he returns to LA anytime soon.
Charles personally asked Harry and William, as well as his sisters Anne, the Duke of York and the Duke of Edinburgh, to break the news to them before the Palace publicly announced it to the nation at 6pm on Monday.
Less than a day after the news broke, Harry was seen arriving at a private terminal at LAX in his black Range Rover on Monday evening LA time.
His wife Meghan Markle and his two children remain in California, where they have lived since they stepped down as members of the Royal family in 2020.
His flight started just before 7pm and the Duke flew more than 5,000 miles across the Atlantic before touching down at London’s Heathrow Airport at around 12:30pm.
He had driven directly to see his father at his residence in London, arriving at Clarence House at 2:45pm where the two had a brief meeting.
The duke has not visited the UK since September when he attended a WellChild awards event, but is not believed to have spent any time with his father or brother and stayed in a hotel.
The last time he came face to face with the King was during the Coronation last May, although he made a quick detour to return to the United States to celebrate his son Archie’s fourth birthday.
Less than an hour later, the King and Queen Camilla were pictured being driven out of the house to Buckingham Palace, where a helicopter believed to be carrying the couple descended from the roof and took them to their Sandringham home they are in Norfolk.
Harry’s report of staying in a London hotel, rather than one of the many royal homes available, suggests that relations between the duke and his family in the UK remain strained.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left Frogmore Cottage in Windsor last year, leaving them without a base in the UK and are said to now need a “formal invitation” to stay with the Royal family on a “protected property”.
The prince has been very vocal in his criticism of his family since he left for the US, in interviews and in Spare’s autobiography.
However, it has been suggested that the reason behind the brevity of the reunion between father and son may have been more practical, given Charles’ condition.
Seen on Good morning Wales On Wednesday, The Sunday Times Royal Editor Roya Nikkhah said: “The King was very tired after his procedure the day before.
“I’m sure Harry would love to spend more time with him, but he probably respects his dad a lot while he’s going through treatment.”
Harry’s visit is not expected to last long and he reportedly has no plans to see his brother before returning to California.
The extent of the fraternal empire was revealed last January when Harry made a series of allegations against William.
Sources have reported that there is “nothing in the diary” for the brothers during the visit and a source close to William told The Rising The future king had “no plans” to meet Harry.
Insiders close to Harry said he would have welcomed the chance to meet his brother, and one of them told him Email Online: “The Duke’s main reason for traveling to the UK is to visit his father. If there was an opportunity to see the Prince of Wales, the Duke would be happy to take it.”
William has to take on more of his father’s royal responsibilities while he recovers.
He officially returned to royal duties on Wednesday after taking a break to focus on caring for his wife and three children following the Princess of Wales’ stomach surgery which left her recovering in hospital for 13 days.
William held an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle this morning and is due to attend an impressive fundraising dinner for the London Air Ambulance Charity in the evening.
The Palace confirmed that Charles’ cancer was discovered during treatment at the same hospital where Kate had an enlarged prostate.
Charles has postponed all publicity duties, but is continuing behind-the-scenes work on his red boxes of state papers.
The Palace asked that the King’s privacy be respected, particularly during his treatment, but said he wanted to make his diagnosis public because of his long-standing support for cancer charities.
