King Charles Hosts Prince Harry's Children at Highgrove Amid Ongoing Family Tensions

Prince Harry's children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, were received by King Charles and Queen Camilla at the royal residence of Highgrove House in Gloucestershire on Friday afternoon. The meeting was the first private encounter between the grandchildren and their grandfather since the late queen's platinum jubilee in 2022.

The visit follows a week in which Harry faced a high court judge's dismissal of his lawsuit against a newspaper over alleged unlawful information gathering, as well as a public dispute over the provision of taxpayer-funded security and accommodation for the Sussex family while in the UK.

Meghan Markle and the children had been on holiday in Portugal before traveling to Britain, but a last-minute change meant the duchess did not join Harry at scheduled public events in Birmingham.

While no details of the Highgrove gathering were released, officials said the reunion signals a possible easing of the long-standing rift between Harry and his father, which has been highlighted in the prince's recent interviews and memoir.

"The king and his family have been in regular contact by phone in recent months," a source close to the royal household said.

Harry's earlier trip to the UK in February, prompted by the king's cancer diagnosis, was described as a step toward reconciliation. The Sussexes have not visited the United Kingdom since September 2022.