Royal watchers may have been surprised to learn of Prince Harry‘s meeting with King Charles at Clarence House earlier this month.

Harry, 41, saw his father, 76, in person for the first time in around 18 months for a 53-minute meeting, during which they are believed to have swapped gifts and had tea.

The appointment was seen as a significant but tentative step towards repairing the troubled relationship between Charles and Harry. 

However, it has been reported that there are currently no plans for the pair to be seen in public together or for Harry to return for a ‘half-in, half-out’ hybrid royal role.

It is understood that the King is steadfast in upholding the Sandringham Agreement, made in January 2020, which rejected Harry’s bid for a hybrid role.

But it’s said he still remains open for another private meeting next time Harry is in London.  

When the royal father and son reunited, they are said to have greeted each other warmly with kisses on the cheek. 

They then had tea privately, and swapped gifts, with Harry believed to have given his father a pictured of his children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Harry recently had a 53-minute meeting with his father – the first time the pair met face-to-face in around 18 months (pictured in London in April 2019)

With regards to the gifts, a spokesperson for the Duke told the Sun: ‘While we would have preferred that elements of the meeting such as the exchange of gifts was not revealed, for clarification purposes gifts were exchanged and a photo from the Duke to his father was given but it was not of him and his wife.’

There have been reports that Harry felt the meeting was very formal.

However, a spokesperson has dismissed this claim, saying: ‘Recent reporting of The Duke’s view of the tone of the meeting, is categorically false.’ 

As the visit took place several days before the prince turned 41, it is reported that the king gave his son an early birthday present.

It has been reported that Harry arrived for the visit at 5:21pm, before leaving at 6.14pm to go to an Invictus Games reception. 

The King, who had a number of engagements on the day – the shortest of which was the meeting with his youngest son – had flown down earlier from Balmoral. 

Until this meeting, Harry and Charles had not seen each other face-to-face since February 2024.

That meeting took place when the Duke made a transatlantic dash to the UK following the King’s cancer diagnosis. 

When the royal father and son reunited, they are said to have greeted each other warmly with kisses on the cheek (pictured in London in February 2018)

Charles has not seen his grandchildren since the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, with Harry claiming it is not safe for them to fly back to the UK. 

It’s been reported that Prince William and Harry did not see each other during the four-day trip amid an ongoing row between the estranged brothers, which shows no sign of healing.

It has since been suggested that Harry’s meeting with Charles was an attempt to cause a split between the King and William.

A spokesperson for Harry ‘categorically’ denied the claims and insisted that Harry is ‘not trying to drive a wedge’ between William and Charles.

Father-of-two Harry has previously expressed his hopes of reconciliation with his family amid his belief that they may never forgive him after his public accusations.

Harry, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, levelled a barrage of accusations at Kate, William, Charles and his stepmother Queen Camilla in his Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography Spare.

Harry previously claimed Charles was jealous of his wife Meghan Markle and the King did not hug him when he told him his mother Princess Diana had died. Harry said he believed the King was ‘never made’ for single parenthood, but ‘to be fair, he tried’.

Charles, according to Harry, pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after Prince Philip’s funeral: ‘Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.’ 

Prince Harry has previously voiced his hopes for a reconciliation with his family (pictured with King Charles at the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth on September 19, 2022)

Relations between William and Harry have long been strained despite their former close bond with the shared trauma of their mother’s death in a car crash when they were 15 and 12.

The fallout is said to have begun before Harry’s wedding to former Suits star Meghan, with the Duke accusing William of being snobbish to his bride.

In the interview with Oprah, Meghan described how Kate made her cry ahead of her wedding – after reports had initially said Meghan had left Kate in tears at Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress fitting.

Another account in Harry’s candid autobiography Spare caused friction between the siblings, when he accused William of physically attacking him and pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan, and teasing him about his panic attacks.

He also alleged it was William and Kate who encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party in 2005 and ‘howled’ with laughter when they saw it.