Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit King Charles III with their children after 4 years
A significant family gathering marked Prince Harry’s schedule in the United Kingdom this week, culminating in a visit from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, along with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to King Charles and Queen Camilla on Friday evening.
Buckingham Palace announced, confirming the meeting, that the monarchs welcomed the family at Highgrove House, a residence located in Gloucestershire, during the afternoon of the same Friday.
The location chosen for the visit, the King’s private estate in Gloucestershire, was the scene of a “private family occasion”, according to the Palace’s official description.
This meeting represents a milestone, being the first time in more than four years that King Charles has had the opportunity to see in person his grandchildren, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five. This long wait underlines the importance of the moment for the royal family.
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Furthermore, this was the first occasion since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022 that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were together in the United Kingdom.
During the week, Prince Harry fulfilled a schedule with several public events, however, it had already been confirmed on Thursday that Meghan and the children would not participate in official engagements in the final days of his visit.
The family’s place of accommodation during their stay in the country has not yet been disclosed.
This reunion points to a significant advance in family relations, which have remained shaken since Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to step back from royal duties and move from the United Kingdom in 2020.
Information from sources close to the family indicate that father and son wanted the meeting this week, with the King expressing great interest in spending time with his two young grandchildren.
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Since 2022, Prince Harry has been traveling to the United Kingdom without his family, having had a meeting with his father in September last year.
Simultaneously with Prince Harry and his family’s stay at Highgrove, the Prince of Wales, William, Harry’s brother, was participating in a charity polo match in Windsor.
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However, the relationship between the brothers remains distant, and there is no expectation of a meeting between them during Harry and Meghan’s stay in the United Kingdom.
Also on Friday, before the meeting at Highgrove, Prince Harry was in Birmingham, marking the countdown to the next Invictus Games, an event dedicated to wounded military personnel in which he has been deeply involved for years.
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He received warm applause from participants and supporters of the games, having the opportunity to try out sports such as pickleball and wheelchair rugby.
In Birmingham, Prince Harry demonstrated his active involvement in one of the Invictus Games events.
At first, the prince’s trip to the United Kingdom was marked by the repercussions of his defeat in a legal case against Associated Newspapers, in addition to uncertainty regarding the arrival of Meghan and her children.
Although prior information suggested Meghan would be present at events in the capital and Birmingham, security concerns led to confirmation that she would not be attending.
Learn more: British monarch holds private meeting with Harry’s children in England
There was also, in the week before the prince’s visit, speculation about the possibility of him staying at Buckingham Palace.
However, after his team announced that he had accepted an invitation to such accommodation, the Palace promptly denied it, reiterating that the prince had already been informed about the impossibility of his stay there.
Before Friday’s family engagement, King Charles completed a schedule of events in Oxfordshire.
Her Majesty opened a new structure at the University of Oxford and then met with astronaut Tim Peake at the launch of a space-related project.
Earlier in the week, the King, accompanied by the Queen, visited London Zoo, being photographed in high temperatures at a time when much of the United Kingdom was experiencing a heatwave.
