The 'Complication' Stopping King Charles From Meeting Prince Harry During His US Trip: 'The Fear Is Simple'
Unfortunately for King Charles, the decision to omit a reunion with Prince Harry from his US tour invited some unwanted attention from the media. But now insiders are delving into why the King avoided reconnecting with his youngest son.
John McDermott, a producer of the royal podcasts “Palace Intrigue” and “Crown and Controversy – King Charles,” speculated to USA Today, “One of the complications is if Charles did meet with Harry, it overshadows the whole trip, and the point of the trip is the state visit.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting the US to emphasize UK-US allyship amid the 250th anniversary of American Independence, and don’t want to distract from that focus or cause “competing narratives” to arise, says McDermott.
Separately, sources have speculated that Harry and Meghan Markle’s attention-grabbing Australian tour threw a wrench in plans to reconnect with Charles. “That trip killed it,” a source told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack, suggesting that the palace wasn’t happy with the Sussexes’ “quasi-royal” trip. “The palace saw the optics and pulled back fast.”
That source accused Harry of wanting “the meeting for all the wrong reasons,” noting “the palace wants distance” from the scandal of Harry and Meghan’s royal feud. “Harry’s concern isn’t family. It’s branding,” the source claimed. “Harry standing beside the King instantly looks official. One photo, one handshake, and suddenly he’s back looking tied to the Crown.”
Per the source, there is only one thing the royals are concerned about. “The fear is simple: Harry doesn’t just get a private moment with his father — he gets fresh royal legitimacy,” the source claimed.
Regardless of whether they meet or not, there is undoubtedly a Harry-shaped shadow over Charles and Camilla’s tour, prompting queries from The New York Times and TODAY, to name just a few. The trip began in Washington DC with a meeting with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on April 27, followed by an address to Congress on April 28 and a trip to New York on April 29.
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