King Charles may be too 'busy' to see Harry when he returns to the UK

Harry last visited his dad when he announced his cancer diagnosis

King Charles III And Queen Camilla Visit University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre
(Image credit: Getty Images)

King Charles' schedule may not be able to accommodate Prince Harry when he visits the UK next week — or at least not for very long.

The Telegraph reports that the King's diary is "quite busy," and doesn't leave much space for a meeting with the Duke of Sussex.

Harry will be in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games — one of the initiatives closest to his heart — on 8 May.

His visit coincides with the King resuming public duties amid his recovery from cancer, as he visited the University College Hospital Macmillan Cancer Centre with wife Queen Camilla on Tuesday. Next week, the Telegraph reports, the King's diary includes Wednesday's audience with the Prime Minister, plus the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the year, and various other official engagements.

As for Harry, his visits to England have been extremely fleeting since he moved to the US, and this one is promising to be similarly short — especially as it's his son Prince Archie's 5th birthday on 6 May.

However, it's been reported for months that there's lots of willingness on both men's parts to see each other while Harry is on this side of the pond.

They last saw each other when Harry made a quick visit to the UK in February after Charles announced his cancer diagnosis. They had a 45-minute meeting at the time.

Just this week, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said: "The King has always kept the door open to Harry," meaning for a reconciliation.

The February meeting between father and son capped off a few months of the two men building bridges with each other, starting with their phone call on the King's birthday last November.

They had been close to estranged prior to that, as tensions have grown since Harry stepped down from his royal duties. Sadly, while Charles and Harry are laying down the foundations to repair their relationship, it's not looking like Prince William has any intention of speaking to his younger brother any time soon.

Still, former royal butler Grant Harrold claimed recently: "It is very likely that Harry and William will see each other [in May] and anything is possible. The King will want the brothers to patch things up so it’s more than likely that he could play peacemaker." We shall see!

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.