The King was reunited with his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on Friday.
Charles and Camilla are understood to have quietly welcomed Prince Harry, Meghan and their two children to Highgrove for a private meeting that had been anticipated for some time.
The gathering took place at the monarch’s private Gloucestershire home, conveniently located within a short drive of Oxfordshire, where Charles had been carrying out official duties, and Birmingham, where the Duke of Sussex had attended an event marking the countdown to his Invictus Games.
The family meeting was arranged with considerable discretion and kept firmly out of the public eye.
Charles had not seen Archie and Lilibet, who live in California with their parents, since 2022, when they were aged three and one.
The King last saw Harry, 41, in September last year, but tensions surfaced again earlier this week when Harry’s PR team incorrectly suggested he had accepted an invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace during his UK visit.
According to the account, Harry had declined his father’s offer for weeks before eventually accepting it too late.
Harry arrived in the UK on Monday. A day later, he lost his High Court case alleging wrongdoing by Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, before launching the year-long countdown to his Invictus Games yesterday.
Prince Harry pictured with his children Archie and Lilibet in a Fathers Day post. The children met their Royal grandparents on Friday for the first time since 2022
King Charles and Queen Camilla secretly hosted Harry, Meghan and their two children at Highgrove
Meghan and the children slipped into Britain unnoticed from their holiday home in Europe.
Buckingham Palace refused to discuss any further details of what was described as a ‘private family occasion’.
The King and his senior officials had always hoped for a low-key, ‘peaceful’ family reconciliation, but weeks of leaks and briefings by Team Sussex had left them both ‘weary and wary’.
Both Charles and Camilla have been vilified by the prince in multiple interviews and documentaries, not to mention his memoir and sources described the situation as ‘sad’ for the King who is 77 and still living with cancer.
No images of yesterday’s meeting will be released. And, while the move will be welcomed as a thaw in family relations, palace courtiers will no doubt be carefully watching the Sussexes’ next move.
Meghan Markle pictured with Archie and Lilbet. The trio slipped into the UK from their holiday home in Europe
Meanwhile, although they were barely 100 miles apart on public engagements yesterday Prince William and his estranged brother might still have been on different sides of the Atlantic.
The heir to the throne was supported by his beaming wife, the Princess of Wales, as he led his team to victory in the DMMI Royal Charity Cup at the Guards Polo Club at Windsor.
Sporting an eye-catching black and white gingham Alice Temperley dress with £260 low-heeled nude Camilla Elphick sling-backs, Catherine, 44, cheered her husband from the sidelines then presented him with a trophy – and a kiss on each cheek for good measure – before they left, smiling, hand in hand.
The event was raising funds for ten charities supported by the couple, ranging from homelessness to mental health. In the 15 years William has taken part in the event he has helped to raise more than £15million for good causes.
Prince William was in action at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor, watched by his wife, Princess Catherine
Harry was interviewed by Alison Hammond for This Morning at an event for his Invictus Games
By contrast Prince Harry was riding solo at an event in Birmingham to mark the one-year countdown to his Invictus Games for injured service personnel, which returns to the UK next July.
Barely days ago his spokesman had announced that Meghan would be joining him as part of a week of public engagements.
Even after Harry, 41, began prevaricating about the trip over apparent fears for his family’s security, his team were stressing to friendly media that she still planned to attend.
But on Thursday night his spokesman announced the Duchess of Sussex had pulled out.
They said she still planned to travel to England with their children but would no longer take part in public events.
However it was strongly hinted that she would be present for ‘private’ family moments, raising the prospect of a meeting with the King, as well as what has been described as a ‘family reunion’ with the Spencer family at Althorp, Princess Diana’s ancestral home.
In Birmingham one observer said Harry had his ‘game face’ on.
He gave an ‘interview’ to This Morning’s Alison Hammond, which consisted mainly of her telling him how wonderful he was, as well as a speech in which he urged people to learn from the ‘Invictus community’.
