Why King Charles won't see Prince Harry while he's back in the UK

Prince Harry is expected to appear at the High Court in London this week as part of an ongoing case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror.

The Duke of Sussex was due to attend a hearing in the capital today, but barrister David Sherborne, who is representing Harry in the phone hacking case, shared that the Prince would be present from Tuesday onwards. 

Harry was in the UK just a few weeks ago for his father, King Charles III's, coronation. While Meghan remained in the US with the couple's two children, Harry attended the ceremony at Westminster Abbey before returning to his family to celebrate Archie's birthday, which also fell on the same day.

The Duke has spoken about his fractured relationship with his father in various interviews, and detailed a number of fall-outs in his best-selling memoir, Spare, which hit shelves earlier this year. 

Harry had previously returned to the UK in March as part of his legal case against Associated Newspapers Limited, and he was joined by a number of high-profile figures including Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Liberal Democrat politician Sir Simon Hughes, as they allege they are are victims of 'abhorrent criminal activity' and 'gross breaches of privacy' by the publisher of the Daily Mail. ANL denied the allegations. 

However, it is believed that he did not see his father, or his brother Prince William, during the trip, although he had attempted to 'make contact' but the King was 'too busy'. 

It seems that the Duke of Sussex is also unlikely to see his family while he is back in London this week, as Charles arrived in Bucharest, Romania on Friday as part of his first trip overseas since he was officially crowned King last month. 

Last week, the Prince and Princess of Wales also made a surprise appearance at the the wedding of King Abdullah’s eldest son, Crown Prince Al Hussein, and the now-Princess of Jordan, Rajwa Al Saif. However, they are believed to be back in the UK as Prince William attended the 2023 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. 

Harry will become the first prominent member of the royal family to take the stand since King Edward VII in 1870.