In recent years, King Charles has refused to even invite the Sussex family to family occasions, like Christmas at Sandringham or summers at Balmoral. I doubt that the Sussexes would have come, but Charles should have invited them. In fact, I’ve always thought that Charles looks terrible for consistently refusing to issue even general invitations to Harry and Meghan, and especially Archie and Lili. Well, now that Sussex representatives met with Charles’s communications director Tobyn Andreae in London last week, there’s some suggestion that the meeting might lead to an invitation to Balmoral this summer. Of course, Hugo Vickers also demands that Prince Harry “beg for forgiveness.” Nah.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle feel the need to broker a reconciliation with cancer-stricken King Charles before it’s too late, according to multiple sources. Senior staff for the couple were spotted meeting Charles’ top PR aide in London last week in what was described as a secret peace summit. Charles, 76, is still being treated for cancer, and Hugo Vickers, author and friend of the royal family, mused that Harry would feel “riddled with guilt” if he never saw his dad again.
“The ball is in Harry’s court. He is the one who has to apologize and beg for forgiveness, and not the other way around,” Vickers told Page Six.
The Mail on Sunday published photos of Meredith Maines, chief communications officer for Harry and Meghan Markle, meeting with Charles’ communications secretary, Tobyn Andreae, last Wednesday. Liam Maguire, who oversees UK press for the Sussexes, was also present for the informal chat at the private club Royal Over-Seas League.
“[The staff] may well have just been discussing routine things, which is more than likely, but at some point you have got to reconcile,” Vickers said. “I don’t think we’ll see Harry returning to royal duties, but on a personal level it will be good if he’s able to get on terms with his father.”
The trio sat outside in full view of onlookers, which Vickers called “odd.” Sussex sources said both camps were “frustrated” that photos of the meeting were leaked.
Maines had flown from Los Angeles to London to meet with the Sussexes’ UK team as well as media, stakeholders and senior figures connected to the Duke’s patronages.
Other royal sources speculated that Harry, Markle and their children — Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, who have had barely any in-person time with their grandfather — may get an invite from Charles to Balmoral, the Scottish estate where he stays every August.
“It’s his house he can do whatever he likes,” said Vickers. “But there’s quite a lot of ground to be made up.”
If Charles invited the Sussexes to Balmoral this summer, he would be reversing his policy on keeping Balmoral for “whites only.” Which is why I doubt an invitation will be extended to the entire Sussex family, plus Charles doesn’t actually give a sh-t about seeing Archie and Lili. If he cared, he would have behaved differently for the past three years. But… my theory is still that this meeting was partly about negotiating a sit-down between Charles and Harry, probably for September. There’s a theory that Harry will be in London for the WellChild Awards, and perhaps Charles will invite Harry (solo) to Balmoral, or maybe Charles will organize a meeting in Windsor or something. As or “begging for forgiveness” – I said over the weekend that I wondered if there were preconditions for the “summit.”
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Meghan’s IG.
