King Charles, Prince Harry: Rumours father and son are intentionally avoiding each other

Yesterday, Monday 27 March, Prince Harry made a surprise appearance in the UK. There is now speculation that perhaps he and his father, King Charles, are purposefully avoiding each other.

King Charles too 'busy' to see Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex unexpectedly appeared at London's High Court yesterday for a hearing in his lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers Limited.

Harry is not expected to see King Charles during his visit because he reportedly was told his father was too 'busy'. This is despite his state visit to France - which was supposed to start on Monday - being postponed due to ongoing protests over French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms.

Charles is now facing backlash as a result of his 'excuse' not to see Harry. As Margaret Hartmann writes for New York Magazine:

What isn’t very understandable is King Charles’s inability to come up with a good reason as to why he won’t be seeing his son during his surprise visit to the U.K. this week.

Read more:

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It is believed Charles is currently at Highgrove, Gloucestershire, getting ready for the second leg of his tour, which starts in Germany on Wednesday 29 March. Meanwhile, Prince William, Princess Kate, and their children are 'out of town', having gone away for the Easter school holidays.

However, Highgrove is only a two-hour drive from London. And, his schedule is likely quite clear due to the cancellation of his trip to France. Hartmann writes:

Saying the king is “busy” — with no further details — when we all know he isn’t falls into this ambiguous category. Make up a plausible excuse or give us a decent insult. What’s the point of employing a whole team of publicists if “busy” is the best they can come up with?

TV commentators on Good Morning Britain have speculated about what this means for the state of the relationship between father and son. One said:

If you fly in from the States and you don't see your family, what does that tell us about the state of their relations?

You know as a dad, you know as a mother, you would see your kid. You would move everything to do it.

Read more: Prince Harry could soon be returning to the UK but not for King Charles' coronation

Did Harry think Charles would be out of the country?

The hearing would have coincided with Charles being in France if his trip wasn't cancelled. This has led some to speculate that perhaps Prince Harry planned his trip thinking his father would be out of the country and therefore that he could avoid seeing him.

Indeed, claimants in the court case were not required to attend the hearing in person, there was also remote access meaning he could have attended online.

The Telegraph questions that Harry may have timed his visit on purpose:

Had the tour to France gone ahead, were the Sussexes aware that Harry’s surprise High Court appearance would almost certainly have upstaged the King’s European charm offensive?

According to publisher, Buckingham Palace would have been aware that Harry's visit could have overshadowed the start of the tour, had it gone ahead.

Sources used:

The Telegraph: 'King Charles ‘too busy’ to see Prince Harry during surprise London visit'

New York Magazine: 'King Charles Pretends He’s Too ‘Busy’ to See Prince Harry'

The Telegraph: 'What Prince Harry is up to on his surprise visit'