Prince Harry meeting with King Charles while he’s in UK in doubt due to major barrier

Prince Harry is already believed to be back on UK soil for an extremely poignant event – but it seems a meeting with his King Charles may not be on the cards with one major barrier.

In his role as patron of the WellChild charity, the Duke of Sussex will be attending its annual awards ceremony in London later today. Harry has been a patron of the charity for 16 years, which supports seriously ill children and their families. He is a regular at their annual awards ceremony, attending last year, and this year will present one of the inspirational winners with their awards and also deliver a speech.

Confirmation Harry would be in London for tonight’s event came just weeks after his 40th birthday, which saw his estranged royal relatives’ official social media accounts send him best wishes. The message, especially the one from his estranged father has been seen as an olive branch from him over their feud.

However, there is currently one sign that shows that father and son are unlikely to meet despite both being in the UK – and it is down to the King’s schedule. On Saturday, Charles and Queen Camilla were at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh to mark its 25th anniversary.

And it is believed that Charles has remained north of the border in the days since, staying at Balmoral. Harry’s event is in London, meaning they will be hundreds of miles apart – and it also seems that his visit to the UK will be fleeting, with him dashing in and then out of the country again following tonight’s poignant awards ceremony.

Harry was last in the UK several weeks ago to attend the funeral of his late uncle Lord Robert Fellowes, the husband of Princess Diana’s sister Lady Jane Fellowes. On that occasion, he did not meet up with his dad, although the event was also attended by Prince William – but the two warring brothers are said not to have spoken to each other.

Before that, Harry was in the UK in May for a 10th-anniversary service for the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, with the King also in the capital on the same day. It had been hoped that father and son were on the road to begin repairing their rift, especially after they met when Harry dashed to the UK after it was announced that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer in February.

Later, sources close to the Sussexes claimed that Harry’s calls to his dad are going unanswered as Harry tries to discuss his security arrangements with his father. The Duke has been embroiled in a long-running battle over his security when he comes to the UK after he automatically lost the right to his police protection when he stepped down as a working royal.

He has lost his subsequent court battles to have it reinstated for him, wife Meghan and their two children and is planning an appeal. According to PEOPLE magazine, Harry believes his dad could help to have this reinstated, although this has been dismissed as “wholly inaccurate” by a palace source.

And a friend of Harry’s told the magazine: “He gets ‘unavailable right now’. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.”