Prince Harry traveled to London to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, but King Charlesand the royal family failed to attend the gathering at St. Paul's Cathedral on Wednesday, May 8.
According to the Duke of Sussex's friends, he was “deeply stung” about not seeing his father.
“It surprises me a lot. I was fully expecting them to meet," an insider told an outlet. "I know that’s what he wanted to happen and I don’t know when he’s next back.”
In February, Harry rushed to England to visit Charles after he was diagnosed with cancer, and the veteran told Good Morning America he had "other trips planned" to "stop in and see my family as much as I can." His confession led many royalists to assume he would reunite with Charles in the spring, but the meeting failed to happen.
Following months of rumors about the pair getting together, a spokesperson for Harry confirmed he wouldn't see the patriarch while in London.
“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the duke will meet with his father while in the U.K. this week, it, unfortunately, will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full program," the rep said in a statement. "The duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
According to an insider, Harry must give 28 days notice of any plans to visit the U.K.
However, a source close to Charles told an outlet that Harry “neither requested to see his father nor invited him to attend the service at St Paul’s.”
“It’s all very sad," Charles' pal told the outlet. “While it is true that the king is understandably wary about meeting with Harry, given the publicity circus that seems to surround all such visits, he did of course agree to see his son at the most vulnerable moment of his illness [in February], and at very short notice.”
His Majesty is balancing his cancer battle and duties, but Harry's friends were surprised he wasn't able to fit his youngest child into his calendar.
“While he was hardly going to roll out the red carpet the moment this Invictus trip was announced, with doctors advising him to focus on his treatment and recovery, the idea that he refused to find space in his diary … well, let’s say recollections may vary once again,” a source said referencing the Windsors response to Harry's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“I can’t imagine that request [from Harry to Charles] fell through the gaps. Even if they didn’t get a request, which I don’t believe, could His Majesty not have made a request to see his son? It was widely known he was coming," they added.
OK! previously reported royal biographer Katie Nicholl claimed the Spare author was hurt by the snub.
"Clearly, there are still some pretty major trust issues and concerns on Charles' part that any private meetings or conversations that he has with his son may not stay private for long," she said. "I think Harry's going to have to work really quite hard to repair some of that trust before he's going to get a sort of privileged audience with his father."
"There is just a feeling of disappointment, certainly on Harry's part, and genuine sadness that he hasn't got to see his father," she noted.
Insiders spoke to the The Sunday Times.