The ever-complicated relationship between King Charles and Prince Harry has trickled down to Harry and Meghan’s kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, and “It’s left a massive hole in his heart that he’s only spent a few fleeting days with them and then video calls on important days,” a source told Us Weekly of Charles’ relationship with two of his five grandkids. They also noted that the King is close to the Prince and Princess of Wales' three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, and that “He longs for the same relationship with his American grandkids.”
The main reason Archie and Lili don’t visit the U.K., they said, is because of security issues due to Harry and Meghan no longer having a permanent residence in Harry’s home country after their 2023 eviction from Frogmore Cottage. “If the King wanted to see them so badly, he could make it easier to do so,” they said.
“King Charles would love to be closer to Harry and to have a relationship with his son that actually works,” royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror. “But this depends on Harry giving his father cast-iron guarantees that there will be no more books and no more embarrassing interviews.”
Quinn also told The Mirror that the King is in discussions to visit the U.S. out of desperation to fix matters with Harry and see his grandkids. Queen Camilla—herself very close to her own grandkids—seems to be pushing her husband towards a closer relationship with Archie and Lili, including, earlier this month, “encouraging efforts to boost their bond” by urging the King to send Lili a “heartfelt gift and card” for her third birthday on June 4, The Mirror reports. Harry seems to be doing his part to get his family over to the U.K. at some point, as Quinn said that Harry has been on the hunt for a “secluded Georgian house” nearby Charles’ Highgrove estate.
“Harry has spent a lot of time trying to work out what sort of U.K. base he might have,” Quinn said. “He has no experience of living in anything other than well-protected houses that are also well away from the public, so he has a huge problem. Every house he looks at has drawbacks.”
With Harry not likely to bring the kids to the U.K. anytime soon—he told the court in his legal battle over U.K. police protection that Archie and Lili can’t “feel at home” in the U.K. if it’s “not possible to keep them safe” there—Charles might take matters into his own hands, Quinn said.
“Charles has had discussions about an official visit to the United States at some time in the future, and there is no doubt if it goes ahead he would build in time to visit his youngest son and his grandchildren,” Quinn said. “But there are mountains of planning to be overcome before that becomes even a remote possibility.”
Quinn continued that “King Charles has privately visited many other countries—he made an unpublicized visit to Transylvania, for example, to check up on his rental properties—so it’s certainly possible that he would make a discreet, private visit to Harry and the children in California,” he said. “He is desperate to see them and hates the idea that Archie and Lili will not remember him as the warm, friendly grandfather he wants to be.”
