King Charles III is on a state visit to the United States, but is not expected to meet Prince Harry. We will introduce the reason for this and the current state of the relationship between father and son.
Don’t expect a family reunion while Charles III sails to America.
The King is scheduled to leave the UK for a state visit to Washington DC from Monday 27th to Thursday 30th April, but will not meet Prince Harry during his trip.
Prince Harry, 41, has recently traveled to Australia with Duchess Meghan and solo to Ukraine, but now lives in California with his wife and their children following his infamous departure from the monarchy.
And while this is the first time the king has visited his son’s new home country since the rift, the four-day work trip is not personal. Prince Charles, 77, has been to the United States to help build relations with President Donald Trump after Melania Trump and his wife visited Britain’s King Camilla last September.
USA TODAY has reached out to Buckingham Palace and Prince Harry’s representatives for comment.
Buckingham Palace previously said Prince Charles would “celebrate the historic links and modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence” and then visit Bermuda.
Why King Charles won’t meet Prince Harry on US visit
John McDermott, co-founder of Kaloga Shark Media and producer of royal podcasts Palace Intrigue and The Crown and Controversy – King Charles, says that apart from having little time for personal matters while on the road, a reunion between Harry and Charles wouldn’t be good PR either.
“One of the problems is that if Prince Charles actually met Prince Harry, that would overshadow the whole trip, and the point of the trip is the state visit,” McDermott said.
This reunion will likely obscure the purpose of the trip and give rise to “conflicting narratives.”
“If a member of the royal family goes out, all the spotlight will be on them,” the producer said, noting that in addition to celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary, Prince William and Duchess Kate’s public presence in the U.K. will be muted, leaving the spotlight on their visit to the United States. “Charles and Camilla are on the agenda this week, but when you see Harry, that’s the topic of discussion.”
King Charles and Prince Harry’s relationship status
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan stepped down from senior royal roles in 2020 following media intrusion and racist coverage, eventually residing in Canada and then California with their two children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4. Royal commentators and insiders have continued to report on the rift between Harry, his wife and his extended family, especially since the publication of his memoir Spare, suggesting that William is an obstacle to reconciliation.
This became even clearer in September when Prince Harry visited Charles while the king was being diagnosed with cancer. Harry did not meet William during that trip.
Prince Harry has commented on claims that he is “not a working royal”, saying in an ITV interview on April 24 that he will “always be a member of the royal family”. Then, in 2025, Prince Harry told the BBC that he wanted to end their feud, saying, “I don’t know how much time my father has left to live” and “I think he wants reconciliation.”
“Charles obviously wants to reconcile with his son as father and son, and Harry wants to be closer to his father, but somewhere in between is William’s opinion,” McDermott said, suggesting that William’s resistance is rooted in “a philosophy that comes from Elizabeth’s reign, which is ‘monarchy first.'”
She added: “When Harry acts outside of normal royal protocol, things become complicated. And William seems to want a streamlined monarchy where everything is harmonious.”
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to resolve. McDermott suggests that the British royal family will eventually need Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan.
“I hope King Charles lasts another 25 years, but at some point, in King William’s time, there won’t be enough active royals,” he says.
Because the monarchy’s duties are largely ceremonial and revolve around public appearances, speeches, and official duties, it may need additional support to maintain its public role.
“We have a hard worker like Princess Anne now, but she’s going to get older. At some point she’s not going to be able to keep to her schedule. So who’s going to do all this? Who’s going to open the post office? We’re not going to send King William and Duchess Kate into those jobs,” McDermott said. “We’re going to need Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to take on some of this burden.”
Succession to the throne may force that determination.
“We’ve all been in families and we’ve all probably had funerals. Now is the time for reconciliation to take place,” he added, but “I hope it happens before that.”
