On February 5, 2024, King Charles announced to the public his new diagnosis after being treated for an enlarged prostate. The King decided to share his diagnosis to help raise awareness and encourage people to talk about cancer and to get checked.
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After the announcement, Prince Harry flew to the UK for a short visit. He was able to see his father for a 45-minute meeting before heading back to California, where Meghan stayed with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
A week on from the diagnosis, there have been speculations about Prince Harry’s meeting with his father and it was so short. Experts have weighed in and shared their opinions.
How did Prince Harry’s meeting with King Charles go?
Neither King Charles, Prince Harry nor The Palace have released details about the father-son meeting, Robert Hardman, the author of Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, told HELLO! that the meeting may have been brief, but it was pleasant.
He explained that King Charles had a busy schedule as he was planning to head to Sandringham later that day but made time to see his son. He added that the King was ‘enormously touched’ that Harry visited and King Charles 'found time in the middle of a busy, planned day to see Harry as soon as he could'.
He's trying to maintain as normal a schedule as possible. But it's lovely for Harry to have come over.
King Charles hasn’t revealed much details about his diagnosisor the seriousness of it, therefore, the fact that Prince Harry flew to the UK to visit his father on such short notice could perhaps indicate the secret meaning of the situation. Indeed, it could reveal the seriousness of it which could be more important than what the Palace revealed.
HELLO!'s Royal Editor Emily Nash said:
Prince Harry coming over is a huge moment. The King's diagnosis will have concerned the whole family, but especially his sons and it's only natural that Harry will want to spend time with him after so long apart.
Prince Harry was only able to see his father for 45 minutes
In the end, Prince Harry spent more time travelling to see his father than actually spending time with him. As per the media, Prince Harry was only able to see the King for 45 minutes. According to The Independent, Prince Harry was seen on Monday, February 5, at a private terminal at LAX in the evening. The Duke of Sussex arrived at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday, February 6 at 12.30 pm.
Prince Harry was then directly driven to Clarence House to see King Charles. Less than an hour after Prince Harry arrived, King Charles and Queen Camilla were seen leaving their London residence and heading towards Sandringham.
As it was a brief visit, Prince Harry did not meet up with his brother Prince William and allegedly stayed in a hotel as the King had no royal lodgings available for his son.
The Duke of Sussex was then spotted at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday, February 7, at 1.30 pm and headed home to California.
It has not been said whether or not Prince Harry will be visiting more regularly since his father’s diagnosis and whether or not he will bring his children to see their grandfather.
Read more:
⋙ King Charles: The monarch made this promise to Prince William according to a royal expert
⋙ King Charles: Buckingham Palace investigating fake books sold on Amazon about the monarch’s health
Sources used:
HELLO!: ‘Inside Prince Harry and King Charles' emotional 45-minute reunion’
The Independent: ‘Inside Prince Harry’s 26-hour flying visit to see Charles that lasted less than an hour’
