Prince Harry reportedly declined an invitation from his father, King Charles III, to stay at Buckingham Palace during his brief visit to the UK in May for a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral commemorating the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games. Instead, the Duke of Sussex opted for a hotel stay, further highlighting the ongoing rift between him and the royal family.
While it was known that Harry had previously turned down offers to stay at royal properties, new details from ‘The Times’ reveal that he was specifically offered accommodation within Buckingham Palace itself. A source close to the matter expressed confusion over Harry’s decision, stating, “I don’t know what more the King could have done. He offered Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace, but it seems even that wasn’t good enough.”
The source added that the palace would have provided all the necessary security, making Harry’s choice to stay in a hotel “all the more strange.” The Duke’s visit reportedly did not include a meeting with King Charles, as the monarch’s schedule was already packed with other commitments. This lack of a meeting has fueled speculation among royal experts, some of whom believe that Prince William might have played a role in preventing the reunion between Harry and his father.
The relationship between Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family, particularly with King Charles and Prince William, remains strained. This tension has been exacerbated by revelations in Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ and his Netflix docuseries, which have continued to widen the gap between him and his family. Despite a brief reunion in February when Harry visited his father after the announcement of King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, their relationship remains distant.