Last Monday, February 5, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III, 75, had been diagnosed with cancer. Due to this health setback, the monarch has been forced to postpone his public duties in order to undergo the treatment scheduled by his doctors, which he has already started.
The monarch communicated the news of his diagnosis in person to his two children. Prince Henry, who currently resides in the United States with his family, immediately took a flight to London to be by his father’s side. However, after flying more than 8,000 kilometers, the youngest of the king’s children returned home to the United States just 24 hours later.
Prince Harry arrived at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday afternoon, a day after arriving at the same airport on a flight from Los Angeles, to take another flight to take him back to his family.
The youngest son of King Charles III visited Clarence House, the monarch’s residence, where he was able to have a brief meeting with the sovereign that lasted about 45 minutes. Despite the short time they spent together, the visit has been evaluated very positively by sources close to the Palace.
On this very brief visit to the country, the Duke of Sussex did see his father, although not his brother, Prince William, who could not meet him due to scheduling problems. There was no attempt to force that meeting either, since everyone knows that the relationship between the two brothers is not going through its best moment.
Prince William remains busy after assuming his role as visible head of the royal family following the health setbacks of his father and his wife, Kate Middleton, who on January 16 underwent planned abdominal surgery for reasons not revealed to the public. .
Two weeks, on the same Wednesday that his brother headed to the United States, the crown prince could be seen in public again. The heir made an appearance at events of the Air Ambulance Charity in London. In the morning he presented medals to local notables and heroes in a ceremony at Windsor Castle, and in the evening he attended a charity gala dinner.
Interactions between the brothers since then have been formal and brief, with the only time they have been seen putting tensions aside at the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022. However, the publication of The controversial and revealing memoirs of Prince Henry a little over a year ago, in which he attacked the royal family without censorship while recounting his experiences with The Firm, only deepened the separation between the two.
Their last “meeting” was during his father’s coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey last May. The brothers were not seen talking or even greeting each other.
Many hoped that the brothers would meet again on this trip, united by their father’s unfortunate situation, but it was not to be. It remains to be seen if his next visit achieves the long-awaited reunion.
