Prince Harry quietly returned to the UK on Monday, making a private visit to St George’s Chapel at Windsor to mark three years since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. The Duke of Sussex, 40, laid a wreath of flowers at his grandmother’s burial site as he paid his respects.
His arrival immediately fuelled talk about whether he might meet his father, King Charles III. It would be their first face-to-face encounter in nearly two years. But with the King currently at Balmoral in Scotland, where he is observing the anniversary of his mother’s death and his accession to the throne, any meeting looks unlikely for now.
The visit comes against the backdrop of the strained relationship between Harry and the rest of the royal family since he stepped back from his official duties in 2020. The rift has only deepened in the years since, particularly after Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary aired in 2022.
In the series, Harry revealed that he believed he was deliberately blocked from seeing the late Queen during a 2020 trip to London, despite her apparently inviting him and Meghan for tea. He described how plans were made for the couple to visit her before their move to Canada, only for a sudden message to arrive saying the meeting was cancelled.
“Before we left for Canada I spoke to my grandmother as well and told her we are coming back on the 6th and I would love to come and drive up and come to see you,” Harry said in the documentary. “She knew that we were finding things hard. I’d spoken to her many times about it. She told me she had no plans for the week she said, ‘Well, why don’t you come up You can have tea but why don’t you stay the night you and Meghan.’”
Meghan recalled the moment plans changed: “So we’re flying back from Vancouver straight to Heathrow. And right as we are getting on the plane and this urgent, urgent message comes through to Harry saying ‘You are not allowed to go and see her Majesty. Make sure that your principal is aware that you cannot go and see her. She is busy she has plans all week.’”
Harry continued: “And I was like that’s certainly the opposite of what she had told me. Once we were back in the UK I rang her and said I am now told that you are busy.”
According to him, the Queen replied: “Yes I didn’t know that I was busy. I have been told I am busy. I have been told I am busy all week.” Harry admitted the situation left him stunned, adding simply, “Wow.”
Although he stopped short of directly blaming King Charles or Prince William, his comments suggested he believed senior royals had stepped in to prevent the meeting. Royal insiders have long hinted that behind-the-scenes manoeuvring continues to complicate any chance of reconciliation.
With Harry back in Windsor, questions about whether the family might try to patch things up are being asked again. But given the King’s commitments in Scotland and the long-running tensions still at play, it seems that for now the Duke of Sussex’s visit will remain a personal moment of remembrance rather than a turning point in his family ties.
