For the first time in 19 months, the Duke of Sussex has reunited with his father, King Charles, in what is being seen as a small but significant step toward reconciliation.

Prince Harry was spotted arriving at Clarence House, the King’s London residence, at 5:20 p.m. on Wednesday. The timing of the visit sparked speculation of a long-awaited reunion, coinciding with the King’s return from Balmoral Castle earlier that day and Harry’s engagement at Imperial College London’s Centre for Blast Injury Studies.

Buckingham Palace later confirmed that the King hosted Harry for a private tea. The Duke was seen leaving just under an hour later, at 6:14 p.m., before heading to an Invictus Games-related event in the evening.

This marked Harry’s first in-person meeting with his father since February 2024, when he flew in from California for a brief 45-minute visit after Charles’s cancer diagnosis was announced.

The Duke’s current trip began on a poignant note. On Monday, he visited Windsor to lay flowers at Queen Elizabeth II’s final resting place to mark the third anniversary of her death. That evening, he attended the WellChild Awards in London, where he appeared relaxed and upbeat. The following day, he travelled to Nottingham to visit the Community Recording Studio, where he pledged a personal £1.1 million donation to BBC Children in Need to support youth affected by violence.

A Step Toward Healing?

Harry’s relationship with the royal family has been strained since he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020. His memoir Spare, released in January 2023, revealed private family tensions, including an alleged altercation with his brother, Prince William.

The brothers’ public appearances together have been rare and strained. They were last seen together at King Charles’s coronation in May 2023, seated several rows apart with no interaction observed. A more recent encounter came in August 2024, at the funeral of their maternal uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, though the pair reportedly did not speak.

On Wednesday, as Harry sat down with the King, William was in Cardiff for World Suicide Prevention Day engagements, with no plans for the brothers to meet.

Harry has previously expressed his desire to reconcile with his family. Following his loss in the Court of Appeal over security arrangements in May, he told the BBC:

“Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things. But I would love reconciliation with my family… Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”

Harry has repeatedly said that resolving his security concerns was the final obstacle to repairing relations. The path to this week’s meeting appeared to be paved when senior aides for both the King and the Duke were photographed meeting in London over the summer — a signal that the door to reconciliation had never fully closed.

Whether Wednesday’s private tea signals the beginning of a lasting rapprochement remains to be seen. But for now, it represents a rare moment of connection between father and son, and perhaps the first step in rebuilding trust within the House of Windsor.