King Charles III is in the US this week to shore up ties with Washington, but one relationship doesn’t appear to be on the agenda: the one with his youngest son, Prince Harry. Per the New York Times, Buckingham Palace has released no plans for a reunion during the king’s four-day state visit, which includes stops in the capital on Tuesday and New York on Wednesday before a Thursday departure. Asked about the apparent snub, Harry’s office framed it as logistics, saying state visits are tightly scheduled, taxpayer-funded trips and that tacking on a personal “cross-country leg” wouldn’t be realistic.
The distance is the latest chapter in a family rupture that began when Harry and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California. Since then Harry has published a memoir; fronted a Netflix series detailing his split from his older brother, Prince William; and unsuccessfully sued over the UK’s decision to strip his family of publicly funded security—something he has called a “sticking point” with his father. A brief tea at Clarence House last September was their first meeting in 19 months and raised hopes of a thaw, but those have been overshadowed by a separate scandal involving King Charles’ brother, Prince Andrew, and his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.
“There are going to be some very, very large elephants in the room during that visit,” journalist Robert Hardman, who has covered the British royals, tells the AP. “But, you know, there are plenty of other things for the king to focus on.” John McDermott, who produces royals-themed podcasts, tells USA Today it would also be bad PR to let a Charles-Harry meeting overshadow the king’s main purpose for visiting the US. “If you meet with Harry, that becomes the story,” he notes.
