After reports that the 55-minute, face-to-face meeting King Charles had with Prince Harry at Clarence House this fall was a success, royal fans have dared to hope that the long-estranged father and son are on the road to repairing their strained relationship.
And, when reports surfaced that the King is planning a state visit to the United States next spring, where he's expected to help kick-off to America's 250th birthday celebration, some especially optimistic royal fans even wondered if the monarch might make time to see his youngest son again during the trip.
Unfortunately, the Mirror reports, another reunion between the royal father and son is unlikely during the state visit. According to royal expert Jennie Bond, the reason has nothing to do with the state of Charles and Harry's relationship, however, and everything to do with the that that the King will be "incredibly busy" during the trip—as is always the case during state visits.
"The schedule is worked out months in advance and is tightly packed with carefully curated engagements designed to enhance bilateral relations," the former BBC royal correspondent explained. "There is very little downtime, and I can’t think that the King would fly across the whole country to visit Harry and his family in California."
While another one-on-one meeting between Harry and Charles is unlikely, Bond didn't totally rule out a meeting between the King and the Sussex family during that time. Like many grandparents, Charles may be eager enough to see his grandchildren, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, to be willing to engage in the scheduling wizardry that would be necessary to pull off such a meeting.
Bond "believes Charles would still be desperate to see his grandchildren," according to the Mirror report, which also noted that he has "only met Lilibet once and Archie just a handful of times."
"I’m sure Charles would love to meet his grandchildren again, and so I suppose it’s conceivable that the Sussexes could take a flight to New York, or wherever the King and Queen are based, for a brief reunion," Bond explained of the possibility of a Sussex family visit with the King during his trip across the pond, which is planned for April, as long as the King's health permits him to travel.
Still, Bond says even the pull of time with his grandkids might not be enough to prompt Charles to plan time to see Harry or the rest of the Sussex family during the trip for multiple reasons.
"But visits like this are about as official as it can get, and it’s really not a time for patching up severely strained family relationships. A meeting would also inevitably draw the headlines away from the purpose of the visit," Bond added. "So I think it’s an extremely long shot that they’ll meet up in the States. Far more likely is that Harry and co will be encouraged to keep a low profile during the trip."
