Prince Harry in UK but won’t visit father because King couldn’t find time
By Rob Harris
London: Prince Harry won’t visit his cancer-stricken father while visiting London this week because of the King’s busy diary.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, landed in the UK on Tuesday and had made little secret of his hopes to see his father, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer earlier this year.
However, a spokesman for Harry revealed that Charles, who last week returned to frontline public duties as his treatment continues, could “unfortunately” not find time to see Harry due to the monarch’s “diary of commitments and various other priorities”.
It remained unclear whether Harry’s office had made an official request for him to visit his father, who has a full diary of engagements planned months in advance.
“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to his majesty’s full program,” a spokesman for Harry said.
“The duke, of course, is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
On Wednesday, Harry was due to attend a service of thanksgiving marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral, where he will give a reading. The Paralympics-style games, founded by Harry, is a multi-sport competition for injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
Harry is expected to be in London for three days before flying to Nigeria, where he will be joined by his wife, Meghan, for a quasi-royal tour.
The King was expected to attend a Buckingham Palace garden party on Wednesday afternoon followed by his weekly audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. On Thursday, he has a public engagement outside of London. He is also continuing his cancer treatment, which involves regular hospital appointments.
Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that the King would officially hand over his role as colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps to his eldest son, William, the Prince of Wales.
King Charles did not have time in his schedule, planned months in advance, to see Harry.Credit: Getty
The role would have probably been passed to Harry had he not left his official royal duties four years ago. He served in the British Army for 10 years from 2005 and was deployed to Afghanistan twice as an Apache helicopter pilot.
He was inspired to found the Invictus Games after attending the Warrior Games in Colorado in 2013 and seeing how injured US military personnel thrived on the challenge of taking part in competitive sports that aided their recovery.
Writing to mark 10 years of the global tournament, Harry said: “It has been an honour to watch the Invictus Games Foundation grow over the years; what began as a vision to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans, has flourished into an international organisation built on hope, strength, and unity”.
In a February interview, Harry hinted that the King’s cancer diagnosis might have a “reunifying effect”. He said that various trips would “take me through the UK or back to the UK, so you know, I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can”.
The prince at the time declined to divulge any information regarding his father’s health, saying: “That stays between me and him.”
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.