Earlier this year, Prince Harry returned to the UK and reportedly reached out to his father, King Charles, to request a meeting during his visit as a gesture of reconciliation.
Harry attended a special service at St. Paul’s Cathedral marking 10 years of the Invictus Games, a sports competition for ex-service people which he founded in 2014.
Reports indicated that the Duke had contacted his father to arrange a meeting while he was in the country. Their last meeting had been shortly after Charles’s cancer diagnosis, which limited their time together in London to less than an hour before Harry returned to Sandringham.
Sources stated that when Harry asked Charles for a meeting before the Invictus Games service, Charles responded with a straightforward assurance that he would meet “if he is able.”
According to a source, Harry has maintained regular communication with his father and openly expressed his wish to see him whenever possible.
During his three-day stay in the UK for the service, Harry did not manage to meet with his father or any other members of the royal family, citing Charles’s busy schedule as the reason.
However, insiders revealed that Charles had agreed to a request from Harry to stay at a royal residence, aware that Harry no longer has an official UK home. This accommodation arrangement could have facilitated a meeting between them outside their packed agendas.
However, according to the Telegraph, Harry turned down the offer because it did not come with any security provision, and he would be staying in a “visible location with public entrance and exit points and no police protection”.
Instead, as he has done on all his recent visits, Harry reportedly chose to stay in a hotel so “he could come and go unseen”.
It’s not known which residence Harry was offered, but St James’ Palace is certainly a strong possibility. It is home to Princess Beatrice, and Princess Anne also has rooms there.
Moreover it is situated directly adjacent to Clarence House where the King stays when in London, meaning father and son could meet in privacy with armed guards protecting the premises.
All royal residences have armed guards at entry and exit points and boast the most sophisticated security systems in the country. But Harry’s primary concern is the level of security he is afforded outside.
