Prince Harry and King Charles’ 55-minute reunion at Clarence House has fuelled hopes of a full reconciliation – but that can only happen under one condition, according to Jennie Bond
While Prince Harry was in the UK for a rare trip, he met with his estranged father King Charles for a 55-minute private tea , calling a truce and having a face-to-face conversation for the first time since February 2024.
Since their meeting, many royal watchers have hoped that their conversation at Clarence House on Wednesday afternoon could be the first step in paving the way to a full reconciliation between the Sussex camp and the royal family.
However, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes that in order for the Firm at large to mend the rift with Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex must do one thing – ensure that the details of their meeting remain private.
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She told the Mirror that their meeting, which lasted less than an hour, would’ve been emotional, due to the years of estrangement between the father and son.
But added: “It must, by any measure, have been a highly charged meeting. After all the hurt, the anger, the accusations and the long silences, father and son were together again in the London house which was once Harry’s home too. It wasn’t a long reunion – it lasted less than an hour – but it was a significant first step.”
While their meeting in Clarence House on Wednesday was a positive step in the right direction to mend their rift, Jennie said that for a full reconciliation to be reached, the onus is on Harry to not go public with the private details of their meeting.
“The question now is…what next?” Jennie said. “First, there must be discretion. The Palace were evidently not unhappy for the fact of the meeting to be made public knowledge.
But now it’s essential that the details must remain private, unless both sides agree to say what happened, which is extremely unlikely. Can Harry and Meghan now let private family matters remain private?”
After Prince Harry left Clarence House, he attended an engagement at the Gherkin in central London, where he was asked by a reporter how his father was. Diplomatically, Harry simply answered: “He is great, thank you.”
According to Jennie Bond, this comment is a sign that Harry is keen to keep the details of their meeting behind closed doors in an attempt to rebuild trust with his family.
She said: “Harry made just one comment after the meeting when asked about it and that was that the King was ‘great’. An innocuous comment which shouldn’t cause any problems with the Palace and suggests that his reunion with his dad went well.”
The reconciliation between Prince Harry and King Charles comes after the pair have been at odds with each other for several years, with their relationship fracturing after Harry, alongside his wife Meghan Markle, quit their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California.
Since then, Harry and Meghan have taken several public jabs at the royal family in their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, their documentary series on Netflix in 2022, and Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare in 2023.
The dozens of accusations levelled at the Firm only further drove a wedge between the Sussexes and the royal family, with speculation mounting that Prince Harry and King Charles were not on speaking terms.
However, during an interview with the BBC in May, Harry expressed his wish to reconcile with his father, especially in light of his cancer diagnosis.