Prince Harry has today been urged to use his 11th hour trip to London to heal wounds with King Charles after his cancer diagnosis as well as reaching out to his brother Prince William. Experts have said that they hope that his dash to Britain is the ‘sign of a truce’ and that ‘good news’ of a heal in the rift in the Royal Family could come from the ‘bad news’ about the King’s health. Harry is believed to be well on his way to the UK having left LAX for London last night to be with his father – but Meghan, Archie and Lilibet are staying at home in California.
Charles had called him personally to tell him the devastating news and the Duke of Sussex has immediately jumped on a plane so he could be in the UK later today. A luxury Range Rover believed to be carrying the British royal was seen arriving at LAX’s VIP terminal last night and there are claims he boarded the earliest flight and could be in London by lunchtime. His father is believed to be resting at Clarence House today ahead of treatment, with Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi seen leaving after a visit this morning.
It is not known if Harry will stay in central London to be close to the King or stay at Windsor, most likely at the empty Frogmore Cottage. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: ‘I’m sure Harry will put aside the past right now for this serious issue. The Royal family – including the Sussexes – it’s so important that everyone is pulling in the right direction’.
Kristina Kyriacou, the King’s former press secretary, said today: ‘Charles adores Harry. He didn’t want any of this estrangement. If out of bad news, some good news comes and Harry and the King and the Queen and his brother are reunited – how wonderful.’ The King spent last night at home in London after beginning out-patient cancer treatment – as family and friends revealed that the monarch remains ‘hugely positive’ following his bombshell diagnosis. But he may miss public duties for a number of months, it has been claimed.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said today that he was ‘shocked and sad’ to hear about the King’s cancer diagnosis but revealed: ‘Thankfully this has been caught early’. Harry could be in the UK as early as lunchtime but it is not known if he will see his brother Prince William or the Princess of Wales, who is recovering from serious abdominal surgery at their home in the grounds of Winsor Castle. But experts have said they hope that the Duke of Sussex’s last-minute trip could finally bring Harry, Charles and William closer together.
Last time the Prince flew to the UK was in September, for the Well Child Awards, where he stayed in a hotel. Meghan missed the UK altogether, meeting him in Germany for the Invictus Games. It is understood the Duke asked if he could stay at Windsor Castle to allow him to visit his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s place of rest, but permission was denied. Harry usually travels with his own private security team, after being stripped of his right to automatic police protection when he left the Royal family in 2020. The King contacted both the Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales personally to tell them of his cancer diagnosis before it was announced by Buckingham Palace.
A source close to Harry said that he had immediately decided to come to the UK to be by his father’s side. Experts have claimed that Harry’s dash to Britain ‘indicates the seriousness’ of the King’s condition. Announcing that Prince Harry will come and see his father, the Office of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: ‘The duke did speak with his father about his diagnosis. He will be traveling to UK to see His Majesty in the coming days.’ Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun: ‘I’m sure Harry will put aside the past right now for this serious issue. The Royal family – including the Sussexes – it’s so important that everyone is pulling in the right direction’. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond said she hoped that King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis ‘will bring a reconciliation’ with Prince Harry.
Harry estranged brother William is also in close contact with his father but neither brother has made a public statement yet. The heir to the throne, who returns to public duties this week after helping to settle his wife, the Princess of Wales , at home as she recovers from abdominal surgery. He may also undertake some duties on behalf of his father, in addition to his own diary of engagements, while the King undergoes treatment. As the King’s cancer shocked Britain, the Commonwealth and the world, it also emerged: Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that doctors discovered the cancer during a medical procedure for an enlarged prostate. Sources have suggested that the cancer is in a different part of the King’s body but was discovered during the surgery last week.
Prince Harry was last in the UK over the summer, when he attended an event for a children’s charity. However, he did not meet with the Royal family during that visit before heading to Germany for his Invictus Games where he met up with Meghan. The Duke of Sussex attended his father’s coronation last May, but left London just hours after the ceremony to return to Montecito. Harry is believed to be in contact with his father but sources have claimed that there has been no rapprochement with William, who is said to have been left upset by the Sussexes’ attacks on the Royal Family since Megxit. Harry’s visit will raise hopes that there could be some thawing in the relations, which have been rocky since he and Meghan emigrated in 2020.
The 75-year-old monarch has returned to London from Sandringham to begin treatment immediately. It is not connected with his recent surgery and is not prostate cancer, but medics spotted it when he underwent his medical procedure for an enlarged prostate. The Duke of Sussex has spoken with the King about his cancer diagnosis and will travel to the UK to see him in the coming days, a source close to Harry said.
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