People Magazine and other outlets confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex will not travel with her husband for his trip to London next week. Prince Harry will stay in Montecito for Archie’s fifth birthday (on the 6th) and then likely travel with his security team on the 7th, in time to attend the Invictus service at St. Paul’s Cathedral on the 8th. Harry missed Archie’s birthday last year because King Charles scheduled his coronation on Archie’s birthday and then spent months trying to force Harry to “choose.” It was insane. As for this visit, Buckingham Palace won’t confirm any details about Harry seeing his father for the first time since February, but it looks like they’re possibly leaving room in the king’s “busy schedule.”
The King and the Duke of Sussex will both be in London at the same time next week, raising hopes of a reunion. However, any potential meeting between the pair is likely to be brief as the King’s diary is “quite busy”, The Telegraph understands.
Prince Harry is due to travel to London to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8. It will be his first visit to Britain since early February, when he dashed across the Atlantic to see the King shortly after his cancer diagnosis was made public. On that occasion, father and son spent little more than half an hour together behind closed doors at Clarence House.
The Duke will no doubt hope to see his father again next week, should their diaries permit. It is thought that Charles will make time to see his son if he is able. But on Wednesday, he will have his weekly audience with the Prime Minister before he hopes to attend the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the season, medical advice pending. He is also understood to have various appointments and engagements scheduled for the rest of the week.
It is thought the Duke might extend next week’s visit a little longer than more recent flying visits, not least because it is a working trip and one that has been in the diary for some time. He may take the opportunity to schedule meetings with representatives from the various UK-based charities he supports, such as WellChild, the Diana Award and Scotty’s Little Soldiers. He might also want to catch up with his friend Johnny Mercer, the veterans minister, who is spearheading the UK’s bid to host the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.
There is no suggestion he will see his brother the Prince of Wales, who is currently in Windsor with his family while the Princess of Wales undergoes chemotherapy. Prince William also has a busy diary next week, with a series of public engagements. It is thought he may conduct an investiture next Wednesday, which would allow him to confer an honour on the mother of a close friend, Henry van Straubenzee, who died in a car crash in 2002, aged 18.
It is BEYOND funny that the left-behind Windsors have done f–k all for months and then as soon as Harry announces plans to visit for a day or two, suddenly Charles and William have full schedules and so much busy work. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace were grabbing any event they could get – an investiture, a meeting with the prime minister, a garden party in early May, anything, something, LOOK BUSY, Harry’s coming! Meanwhile, Harry hasn’t said a thing about any additional charitable stops or family visits. This is actually Buckingham Palace begging Harry to try to see his father.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.