Prince Harry is desperate for a royal reunion, I understand. Sources tell me he would love nothing better than an invitation from his father, so Charles can see his Sussex grandchildren for the first time in four years.
This July would prove the perfect opportunity as Harry, possibly with Meghan, Archie, seven, and Lili, five, is visiting the UK for the ‘one year to go’ until the Invictus Games in Birmingham.
But there’s one problem: Queen Camilla. It’s thought that she has never really forgiven Harry, 41, for effectively throwing her under the bus in his autobiography Spare and in the TV interviews he gave to publicise it.
Harry described Camilla as ‘the villain’ and the ‘third person’ in his parents’ marriage. He accused her of being ‘dangerous’ and of launching a campaign at his expense to rehabilitate her image in the British tabloids, after Princess Diana appeared to expose her affair with the then Prince Charles.
Harry revealed that he and Prince William pleaded with their father not to marry Camilla, fearing it would cause ‘more harm than good’.
He described, in excruciating detail, the horror he felt in seeing ‘the other woman’ on his own, likening their initial meeting to having an ‘injection’ and writing, ‘Close your eyes, over before you know it.’
'Over my dead body'
Moreover, he accused Camilla of leaking stories about him to the press to smooth her path to becoming queen consort. He claimed she ‘sacrificed me on her personal PR altar’ and ‘left bodies in the street’ by trading stories to secure positive headlines. Ouch! No wonder she doesn’t want to see him.
Indeed, I’m told Camilla joked ‘over my dead body’ to inviting Harry and Meghan to stay with her and the King at Sandringham or Balmoral. It may be a joke (and we now know the King has offered an olive branch in the form of a royal residence for them to stay in) but the sentiment is thought to be real!
Camilla may not, understandably, be keen. If she was to push back, which she won’t because she wants harmony for her husband, it would be yet another new fall-out that no one needs.
When Harry flew to London in February 2024, after the King announced that he was being treated for cancer, I gather he hoped to accompany his father to Sandringham, but it was made very clear that the King and Queen were taking the helicopter to Norfolk without him.
Of course, Charles could decide to see Harry (and Meghan plus the kids if they come) on his own. After Harry and Meghan’s wedding in 2018, they both stayed with Charles at the Castle of Mey (Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother’s favourite home in the far north of Scotland), where Harry later wrote that, in hope of conceiving their first child, he sang to the Scottish mermaids, in the form of seals, on the Caithness coast. (I’m not joking - he did actually write that and, thinking it was a ‘good omen’, he jumped in the sea to swim with them!)
I understand that Camilla, by that point, had tried to befriend Meghan but had been rebuffed (like Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh) so she chose to stay in Gloucestershire.
The Queen was staggered when Harry hurled so many hurtful barbs her way
Harry and Camilla’s relationship had always been slightly uneasy but by the time of his wedding to Meghan it had much improved. So she was staggered when Harry hurled so many hurtful barbs her way - which also angered the King.
A friend told me, ‘The Queen has always appreciated how hard it has been for William and Harry after the death of their mother. She never sought to take her place, and has always tried to remain sensitive. But she has kept her counsel, despite the many slings and arrows of public acrimony, to protect the monarchy. So she found Meghan and Harry’s public rejection and criticism, which caused so much damage, unforgivable.’
I am told Harry is now particularly keen for his children to spend time with King Charles during his July visit. Since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and relocated to California in spring 2020, the monarch has had only limited opportunities to see his Sussex grandchildren.
Charles has met Lilibet only once, during the Sussexes’ visit to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. That same trip also marked the last time that he saw Archie, who was then three years old.
Having the King meet the children would not only allow them to spend time with their grandfather but could also serve as a strategic move for Harry, who has previously raised concerns about not receiving the level of security he feels is necessary.
But the Queen is very protective of her husband and does not want to see him hurt – or used. So despite the reports that Harry and his family have been offered a private residence by the King, I highly doubt Camilla will be anywhere near.
This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.