King Charles is privately 'full of regrets' as Prince Archie turns seven in the United States on Wednesday, 6 May, according to a royal commentator who says the birthday will pass without a royal reunion between the monarch and his estranged grandson.
Archie's seventh birthday lands four years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as senior working royals and moved to North America, eventually settling in Montecito, California. The Sussex family has only returned to the UK together once since then, for the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the summer of 2022, and there has been no public sign of a thaw in relations between the couple and the rest of the royal family.
At the heart of it sits a fairly stark reality. King Charles III has five grandchildren, but his relationship with them is uneven. While Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are a regular and cherished part of his life, Prince Archie and his younger sister Princess Lilibet are growing up thousands of miles away in a world that has deliberately been put at arm's length from the palace.
Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe told the Mirror that Archie's birthday will sharpen that sense of distance. 'I think King Charles is full of regrets over the whole situation, he definitely wouldn't have wanted it to go this way,' he said, adding that the king has previously spoken of how much he enjoys being a grandfather.
The Prince Archie milestone comes on the heels of a moment that, on paper, might have offered a chance for the two sides to bridge at least a little of the gap.
Last week, King Charles and Queen Camilla spent four days in the United States on a state visit, carrying out engagements in Washington, New York and Virginia. The trip was widely described as a success, an exercise in soft power showcasing a still-working monarchy on the global stage.
Yet there wasno meeting between the king and his younger son. Despite Harry being just a few miles away at points during his father's stay, no encounter was scheduled, and no last-minute coffee or private supper materialised.
Palace officials have not publicly explained why, and Harry's representatives have not offered their version either. What is left, instead, is the silence itself. For a family that still insists it does not air internal dramas in public, that silence can feel as telling as any official statement.
#HappyBirthdayPrinceArchieGod bless and protect you always 🥳💕https://t.co/1NgJTv0SdT
For those around the monarchy, this is exactly the sort of moment that stings. A grandfather in one American city, a grandson and his parents in another, and still no photograph, however carefully stage-managed, of a brief hug or a shared afternoon.
Source: International Business Times UK
