Prince Harry’s flying visit to the UK shows how deep the royal rift has actually become, royal experts have claimed, and he has caused ‘disquiet’ with his unbidden trip. The Duke of Sussex returned to Heathrow this afternoon, just 24 hours after a transatlantic dash to see King Charles III in London following the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
And the nature of his trip, in which he shared a ‘brief 45 minute meeting’ with the King and Camilla and is not believed to have seen his brother William or sister-in-law Kate Middleton, shows how bad things have really become, royal expert Jennie Bond said.
She claimed: ‘William has shown today that he has disowned Harry, he doesn’t want to know him, and he probably doesn’t even like him anymore. Harry is just not part of his life. ‘That rift is so deep now, and that has been shown by Harry being here and them not meeting, so deep that I really do wonder if it can ever, ever be mended.’
It came as Harry’s wife Meghan Markle flashed a smile yesterday as she drove around near her Montecito home while waiting for the duke to return. Meanwhile, Robert Jobson told Mail+ that although Charles was perhaps touched by his ‘darling boy’s’ gesture in reality it has caused ‘some disquiet by “taking it upon himself” to fly over unbidden’.
Harry, 39, arrived at Heathrow just before 2pm – and if he is on board British Airways flight 269, due to leave at 3.05pm, he will be back in Los Angeles for 6.30pm local time. He flew into London on a ten-hour flight from Los Angeles yesterday and arrived at the royal residence at 2.42pm before spending around 45 minutes with Charles.
Charles was said to have been unhappy as he was left ‘kicking his heels’ waiting for Harry to arrive as he delayed his trip to the ‘tranquility of Norfolk’ for ‘peace and quiet’, Mr Jobson said. ‘I cannot blame Harry for flying over,’ he said. ‘Whatever soothing noises might come from Palace courtiers, his father’s diagnosis is a serious matter.
‘However, the Prince should also spend some time reflecting on the stress he has caused the King, not least when he was coping first, with the loss of his own father, Prince Philip and then, of course, his late mother, the Queen.
‘Who could be surprised if Harry were welcomed with something short of open arms?’ The father and son had a ‘brief meeting’ before the King and Camilla were driven to Buckingham Palace where a helicopter was waiting to take them back to Sandringham in Norfolk.
The Duke is not believed to have seen his brother William or sister-in-law Kate Middleton, who is recovering from her abdominal surgery and on extended leave. But expert Richard Fitzwilliams suggested the fact that Prince Harry made the trip at all shows hope for reconciliation.
He told MailOnline: ‘The whole situation has changed with cancer. The fact the King has been diagnosed with something that millions know is life threatening has changed the whole relationship between the Royal Family and the Sussexes. ‘The only way for a family to fight cancer is to come together.
‘A lot has been made of the length of Harry’s visit and how quickly he left but that isn’t the point. The point is that Harry came – and Charles shared the diagnosis with him. What he wanted was to express support, it’s a completely new situation.