Why it's 'unlikely' Harry will see William and Charles during his UK trip

The reconciliation will have to wait

Prince Harry attends The Invictus Games Foundation's 10th Anniversary Service
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Harry is coming to the UK really soon, but once again, it looks like he won't be seeing his dad or his brother while he's on this side of the Atlantic.

One royal source who spoke to Harper's Bazaar has said that it's "unlikely" that the Duke of Sussex will have a meeting with King Charles or Prince William later this month when he's in London for the WellChild Awards.

Bazaar's source explained that the King and Queen will be in Scotland around the time of Harry's visit for an official event celebrating the Scottish Parliament on 28 September, and are allegedly planning to stay for a few more days after that.

Meanwhile, Harry's engagement (i.e. the charity awards ceremony) takes place in London on 30 September, so "a few days" could mean Charles and Camilla just miss him when they head back to the capital. The Duke has also made a habit of only staying for a couple of nights max when he's in the UK, which further slims down the chances of a father-son conciliatory meeting.

The Committal Service For Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

(Image credit: Getty Images)

As for a meeting between Harry and William, most insiders and royal experts have pretty much given up on one happening anytime in the near future.

The assertions made by Bazaar's insider source are pretty much in line with those made by an anonymous source who spoke to the Express earlier this week.

"The King is due to head south in late September," the source told the publication. "The King and Queen will mark the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament on September 28 and will have several free days afterwards. There are currently discussions ongoing about finding a mutually agreeable place in the diary."

But the source didn't want anyone getting their hopes up: "If the King decides to head to London in the evening of Sunday 29 for meetings pencilled in early that week, it is still looking highly unlikely that there will be time to meet with his son," they said.

The insider added that Harry's will be "a flying visit" and that a potential meeting between the two men "doesn't look promising."

Harry's relationships with his dad and brother are not at their best, to say the least. The Duke was in the UK in August to attend his uncle Lord Fellowes' funeral, and though William was also in attendance, the two brothers reportedly didn't speak at the event.

When the US-based royal visited his home country back in May, the King famously declined to see him, citing an overly busy schedule. And in February, Harry immediately flew over to the UK after hearing of Charles' cancer diagnosis, but the two men only met for about 45 minutes at the time.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.