No time for meetings

“Full program”: Charles turns Harry down

A bitter rebuff for Prince Harry: as the Sussexes' team have now confirmed, King Charles will have no time for his son during the 39-year-old's visit home. 

Prince Harry has been back in London since Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, the 39-year-old will take part in a church service to mark the tenth anniversary of his "Invictus Games". However, one item on the agenda has fallen through: a meeting with his father.

"Many requests"
Contrary to initial speculation, there will be no meeting between Harry and King Charles. The reason: the monarch has turned his son down, as a spokesperson for the Sussexes has now explained.

Prince Harry has traveled to London without his wife Duchess Meghan. However, there will be no meeting with the family.(Bild: Dutch Press Photo Agency / Action Press / picturedesk.com)

"In response to the many requests and ongoing speculation as to whether or not the Duke will meet his father during his stay in the UK this week, unfortunately this will not be possible due to His Majesty's busy schedule," the statement read, quoted by the Daily Mail, among others.

It was actually expected that there would be a meeting between father and son. After all, Harry spontaneously jetted to London in February after the 75-year-old's cancer became public. In an interview that the Duke of Sussex gave a few days later, he said that he was not averse to a reconciliation with the family.

"Understanding for busy schedule"
However, Harry takes the rebuff from Charles in his stride - at least outwardly. The statement went on to say: "The Duke naturally understands his father's busy schedule with his commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon."

A meeting with his brother Prince William and his sister-in-law, Princess Kate, who has currently withdrawn from the public eye due to cancer, is also not on the agenda for Harry.