Why Prince Harry will not visit King Charles III in London this week
Prince Harry and King Charles III will not be having a family reunion while the Duke of Sussex is in London this week.
Harry is in London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Invictus Games, which he brought to London in 2014. To mark the milestone, he'll be attended a panel discussion with the organization on Tuesday and on Wednesday, he will attend a celebration at St Paul’s Cathedral along with veterans involved in the various Invictus Games sports.
"In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not The Duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme," a spokesperson for Harry told USA TODAY in a statement Tuesday. "The Duke of course is understanding of his father's diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Buckingham Palace.
Charles, who returned to his public duties on April 30 after taking a step back from treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, is also booked on Wednesday.
Buckhingham Palace is hosting the first Sovereign's Garden Party of the season, with Charles expected to attend.
Charles' visit to a cancer treatment center was "the first in a number of external engagements" coming up, although his schedule won't immediately return to what it was before his diagnosis, according to the palace.
Outings "will remain subject to doctors' advice," but "it will not be a fullsummer program," they added.
Prince Harry visited King Charles III in February following his father's cancer diagnosis
Although Charles and Harry are not crossing paths this week, they did have a private reunion in February after the palace confirmed the king was diagnosed with "a form of cancer." Before the announcement he was hospitalized and underwent a procedure for benign prostate enlargement in January, and the cancer was identified via diagnostic tests after a "separate issue of concern was noted."
"I spoke to him. And I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could," the Duke of Sussex said on "Good Morning America" in a segment that aired on Feb. 16 of the moment he learned about his father's health.
He continued, "I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane, go and see him, and spend any time with him – I'm grateful for that. … I've got other trips planned that will take me through the U.K., or back to the U.K., and so I'll stop in and see my family as much as I can."
When asked about the state of his father's health, Harry said, "That stays between me and him."
Prince Harry's tense relationship with King Charles, Prince William
Harry discussed his relationship with the royal family in his memoir "Spare," published in January 2023, accusing them of providing unflattering information about other members to the press in exchange for positive coverage. He also recalled his father and brother, Prince William, saying didn't know why he left.
"If they didn't know why I'd left, maybe they just didn't know me," he wrote. "At all. And maybe they never really did. … How can I tell them? I can't. It would take too long. Besides, they're clearly not in the right frame of mind to listen. Not now, anyway. Not today."
In an interview with ITV in 2023, Harry said he hoped to reconcile with Charles and William after their rift but alleged that "they've shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile."
But Harry also told "60 Minutes," "I look forward to having a relationship with my brother. I look forward to having a relationship with my father and other members of my family."
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, Erin Jensen, Brendan Morrow
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Harry will not visit King Charles in London this week
