Prince Harry has broken his silence on the swirl of speculation surrounding his much discussed reunion with King Charles, firmly shutting down claims about the tone of their private meeting.
The Duke of Sussex recently joined his father for tea at Clarence House, their first face to face in over 18 months.
The meeting sparked headlines, with some commentators hailing it as the start of a reconciliation, while others branded it a “tone-deaf” PR move and suggested Harry was unsettled by its formality.
But Harry isn’t letting rumours cloud the moment. In a rare statement, a spokesperson for the duke said, “Recent reporting of The Duke’s view of the tone of the meeting is categorically false.”
“The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son. Presumably, those same sources have also chosen to disclose that gifts were exchanged.”
The spokesperson added that, while the duke would have preferred such details to remain private, it was true that a framed photograph was presented during the meeting but notably, it did not feature Harry and Meghan.
The long-awaited encounter at Clarence House was the first time father and son had seen each other in over 18 months.
Though brief, lasting just under an hour, it was significant. Buckingham Palace confirmed only that Harry joined his father for a private tea, and that his car departed 54 minutes after he was spotted arriving.
HELLO! revealedthe meeting had been “under consideration” for some time, but neither side wanted to fuel speculation beforehand.
Still, for Harry, it was a meaningful step. A source close to the duke told the magazine,“He would like a relationship with his father. There’s no doubt about that.”