King Charles Wants to Mend Fences with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, But Not Until He “Sees Some Positive Change on Their End”

The continually fractured relationship between King Charles and his younger son, Prince Harry (and, by association, Meghan Markle), looked to be on more solid footing around the time of the King’s Coronation on May 6. But then, puzzlingly, Harry and Meghan were not invited to this year’s Trooping the Colour on June 17—the annual birthday parade for the monarch, and Charles’ first in the role. So what’s going on with the relationship? (As best we know, anyway.)

According to Us Weekly, the King “loves his son,” but relations with the Sussexes remain strained. Charles’ “trust has been compromised since the publication of Spare,” a source said, referring to Harry’s memoir released this past January. “There’s no doubt he wishes to avoid Harry and Meghan until he sees some positive change on their end,” the insider said. No word what that “positive change” entails, exactly. 

The outlet also speaks to Harry and Meghan’s absence at Trooping the Colour, with a source saying “The feeling among the royals is that if the Sussexes were there, it would’ve steered attention away from the event, an important one for the whole nation.”

The Mirror reports that the King is open to resolving the rift with Harry and would welcome both Harry and Meghan back into the royal family. On a recent episode of The Daily Express’ "Royal Roundup," reporter Richard Palmer said “I’m sure the King would welcome them back. I mean, he’s quite keen to heal that family rift. But it’s obviously very raw at the moment, and it’s very noticeable. While I’d say he’s keen to heal that rift, he hasn’t met his son the last two times he’s been over to the U.K.” (Harry has been in his home country to attend court appearances for a lawsuit he has filed against Mirror Group Newspapers.)

We continue to hold out hope for peace in the family.