Inside Prince Charles's Emotional First Meeting With His Granddaughter Lilibet
When Prince Harry and Meghan brought their children to the UK for the Platinum Jubilee celebrations it was an opportunity for one-year-old Lilibet to meet many family members for the first time. And now it has been confirmed that Prince Charles spent time with the Sussexes in a meeting that a royal source has described as “fantastic” and “I think, very emotional.”
“It was a fantastic visit and of course the Prince was delighted to see his grandson and meet his granddaughter for the first time,” a royal source said today when questioned on the subject by reporters during a briefing about Clarence House’s annual financial review.
“It was wonderful to have them back in Britain, the Prince and the Duchess were absolutely thrilled to see them,” the source continued. “The Prince of course hasn’t seen his grandson Archie for a bit of time and so it was very, very, very special to have some time with him. He hadn’t met Lilibet, his granddaughter, and so to meet her for the first time was I think very emotional, a very wonderful thing.”
The source declined to say exactly when across the jubilee weekend the meeting or meetings took place. He also declined to detail what the current state is of Prince Charles’s relationship with his younger son. Since stepping back from royal life in March 2020, Harry and Meghan have praised the Queen but been scathing of the institution of the monarchy and made comments that have been seen as criticisms of other family members.
In a podcast last May, Harry spoke about breaking the cycle of “genetic pain.” “If I’ve experienced some form of pain or suffering because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered, I’m going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don’t pass it on, basically,” he told the Armchair Expert podcast. Harry is currently writing his memoirs which are expected to be released at the end of this year and could see more personal information put into the public domain.
Until now, there has been virtually no details about when or if family members met with the Sussexes privately on their return to the UK. And unlike at Prince Philip’s funeral where they were photographed walking together, William and Harry were not seen alongside one another at all during the jubilee events.
Since the Sussexes left the UK two years ago they have built a life in California, purchasing a mansion in Montecito. They have, however, paid to retain their UK property Frogmore Cottage, which is where they stayed when they returned to the UK for the Platinum Jubilee and where Lilibet’s first birthday party was held. During last year’s financial briefing, Clarence House revealed that the couple had received a “substantial sum” from Prince Charles to support them with their transition away from royal life but that the funding ceased in summer 2020. “Great credit to them, they said they wanted to transition to financial independence and that has now been achieved,” a royal source reiterated today.
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