Prince Harry, Meghan and King Charles are back at the centre of a deeply uneasy royal story this week, after the king made no move to see his younger son while on a high-profile visit to the United States with Queen Camilla. The claim surfaced as Charles began the trip in Washington, where he was welcomed with full ceremony before heading to the White House for talks and public appearances with President Donald Trump and Melania Trump.
One Person Appears to Be Missing From King Charles’s U.S. Itinerary: Prince Harry - The New York Timeshttps://t.co/9WZWOMryzl
The latest account lands against a family row that has dragged on for years and still shows little sign of settling. Harry last saw his father in September, during a brief afternoon tea at Clarence House that marked their first meeting in 19 months, and he had reportedly been hoping to build on that before returning to Britain in July for the Invictus Games in Birmingham.
The immediate difficulty for Harry is not just distance, but the optics. While Charles carried out a high-profile American visit, he was photographed in notably warm moments with Trump, including a meeting in which the president later called the monarch a 'friend of mine' and said they were going to have a great time' together.
King Charles can't escape the Prince Harry headlines.https://t.co/TJo3MUa6iq
Trump has repeatedly gone after Harry and Meghan in public. This recalls past remarks in which he described Harry as an 'embarrassment,' said he was being 'led around by his nose,' and insisted the Sussexes must pay their own way in the US. For Harry, this is not abstract Westminster or Washington business. It is personal, and rather obviously so.
Still, Harry understands the constitutional reality. it is the king's duty to maintain a relationship with whoever occupies the White House, even if that means smiling through conversations with a man who has taken regular swipes at his son and daughter-in-law. The sharper wound, is the sense that Charles is not defending them at all.
None of the private feelings, late-night anxieties or alleged refusal to meet described in the report has been independently confirmed, so they should be treated with some caution. But if the account is accurate, Harry is caught in a familiar bind. He wants progress with his family, yet every public gesture seems to remind him how little control he has over the terms.
Harry had been hoping that his July return to Britain might reopen talks about a version of the 'half in, half out' arrangement he and Meghan originally wanted in 2020. That proposal was rejected at the time, but Harry believed recent momentum, including what it described as a successful Australian trip earlier this month, had improved his chances of persuading his father to revisit the idea.
King Charles 'Trolls' Prince Harry and Meghan With 'Reconciliation' Talk as Snubbed Sussexes Left Off Guest List at NYC Bashhttps://t.co/2CbY8sRmYm😂👍
Source: International Business Times UK
