King Charles gave an awkward response to a request to "bring back" Prince Harry during a visit to a university. He laughed off the question as he greeted and shook hands with gathered students at the University of East London, who had waited for hours to see him, shortly after his arrival.
The awkward moment came when one of the royal fans asked: "Can you bring back Harry?" with the King initially replying: "Who?" Charles' relationship with his second son is said to be somewhat strained in recent years - with Harry's tell-all memoir Spare, the couple's recent Netflix series and other controversial media appearances unlikely to have helped.
Harry famously criticised his stepmother Camilla and claimed Charles put his own interests before his son's, among other allegations, in his best-selling book, which was released last month. But while the King's response to the student's question may have seemed frosty, he had actually misheard - and burst into laughter when he realised what the man had said.
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The monarch was visiting the university's Stratford campus in east London for its 125th anniversary. During his appearance, he unveiled a plaque and opened its new hospital and primary care training hub.
The King also met three infants and their mums at the hub’s baby development lab, which researches how living in urban areas affects children’s early years. When he sat down on a sofa, one of the infants started crying, with Charles responding: "Oh dear."
He was later given bouquets by two local schoolchildren and a toddler, who enthusiastically handed over his flowers before the King had finished greeting the first pupil, much to Charles' amusement. His visit was the fourth royal appearance the university has hosted, after the late Queen and Prince Philip in 2006, Camilla in 2007 and Charles' sister Anne, Princess Royal in 2013.
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