Harry's reunion hopes thwarted

An expert gives his analysis to new, as the Duke of Sussex claims leaks are sabotaging a royal reconciliation

- Mitya Underwood

It didn’t take long for Prince Harry and King Charles's face-to-face reunion to become mired in yet more drama amid talk of royal leaks and sabotage.

The father and son shared a private tea last month, the first time they'd been together in more than 18 months, and it was widely regarded a first but huge step towards them getting their troubled relationship back on track. But after details of the encounter were allegedly leaked by someone with inside knowledge, Harry's team issued a statement suggesting it was the work of “sources intent on sabotaging” the reunion.

The leak included the claim that Harry found the long-awaited reunion “distinctly formal”, and that he’d presented his dad with a framed photograph of himself, Meghan and Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, who the King hasn't seen in person since summer 2022.

Team Sussex, however, said the claim about the formal tone was “categorically false”, and went on to suggest that underhand tactics were being employed to disrupt the path to royal reconciliation.

“The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son,” the statement said.

“Presumably, those same sources have also chosen to disclose that gifts were exchanged. While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over, however, the image did not contain the duke and duchess.”