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King Charles has enjoyed a private reunion with the grandchildren he has not seen for four years, it is understood.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, were hosted by Charles and Queen Camilla at the king’s private residence, Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, on Friday afternoon.
The last time Charles saw Archie and Lilibet was during the late queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in ۲۰۲۲.
A family reunion had been speculated when it was announced that Prince Harry would be promoting his Invictus Games in the UK this week.
But despite initial plans for Meghan to join him at some public engagements in Birmingham, a last-minute change of plan meant she pulled out. It is not known when she arrived in the UK. The couple were understood to have been on holiday in Portugal with their children prior to arriving in the UK.
The reunion follows a bumpy week for Harry, including a high court judge’s dismissal of his claim against Associated Newspapers Ltd over unlawful information gathering on Tuesday.
Harry’s arrival was also preceded by a row over the refusal of taxpayer-funded security for the family while in the UK, and the withdrawal of an offer of accommodation at a royal residence. It led to the Sussexes changing their plans and the decision that Meghan and the children would no longer travel to London.
Harry’s request for him alone to stay one night at Buckingham Palace was then refused, with the Sussex side briefing it was because of the impending court judgment, and the palace understood to have been insistent his request was too late for appropriate security and staffing provision.
No details were being given of Friday’s Highgrove meeting, but it marks a clear step towards healing the very public rift between Harry and his father since his public criticism of his family and the institution of the monarchy in a series of television interviews and his bestselling memoir Spare.
He criticised his father, his stepmother, Camilla, brother, the Prince of Wales, and sister-in-law, Catherine, in his Oprah and Netflix documentary interviews and in Spare, after stepping down from the working monarchy six years ago.
His rift with Prince William shows no sign of abating and the family reunion took place on the same afternoon William was playing in a charity polo match at Windsor.
In February ۲۰۲۴ Harry made a transatlantic dash from his California home to Britain to see his father after the king’s cancer diagnosis, which may have led to the first steps in a reconciliation between the pair.
Harry has previously spoken of his wish to reunite his children with his father. He and Charles are understood to have regularly spoken on the phone in recent months.
Meghan has not visited the UK since in September ۲۰۲۲, when the couple flew in for a series of charity engagements that coincided with the death of Elizabeth II.
