King Charles and Prince Harry's long-awaited reunion took place earlier this month, with the pair coming face-to-face over tea at Clarence House. While the meeting was short – lasting just 54 minutes, if photos of Harry's car arriving and leaving are anything to go by – the fallout has certainly not been sweet.
Before we delve into the drama that's unfolded since the pair met, to recap: King Charles and his son, the Duke of Sussex, had – until their Clarence House rendezvous on 10 September – not seen each other in over a year and a half. Many hoped the reunion would be the beginning of a reconciliation between the Royal Family and the Sussexes, who infamously stepped back from formal duties in 2020. But a royal reconciliation may be a far-fetched idea, based on reports of Charles and Harry's meeting.
In fact, Harry has since released a statement calling out reports that he was surprised by the formality of the meeting with his father. This comes after The Sun claimed Harry described the meeting as "distinctly formal" and that he left his father's home feeling more like an "official visitor" than a family member. Elsewhere in his statement, Harry questioned how certain details (in particular, that gifts were exchanged) came to light.
"Recent reporting of The Duke's view of the tone of the meeting is categorically false," a spokesperson for Harry told PEOPLE following his Clarence House catch-up with Charles, going on to suggest that sources are out to 'sabotage' his reunion with the Royal Family by leaking stories and incorrect narratives to the press.
"The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son," the statement went on. "Presumably, those same sources have also chosen to disclose that gifts were exchanged." Accordingly to The Mirror, Harry's claims have left Charles "saddened" and "perplexed".
Harry has not himself spoken out about the meeting with his father, but when asked about King Charles at a public appearance shortly afterwards, he said: "He's great, thank you." Whether or not this is in response to his relationship with his father, or his father's health, is up for debate, but he later told The Guardian that he intends to nurture their fractured dynamic.
"The focus really has to be on my dad," he said of his plans over the next year, adding that he hopes to spend more time in the UK with the two children he shares with Meghan Markle. "This week has definitely brought that closer."
