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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jennifer Newton

Wills and Kate skipping Harry and Meghan's UK 'clear the air talks' is significant, says expert

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's secret trip to the UK saw them meet with both the Queen and Prince Charles for "clear the air talks".

It was the first time that Meghan had been back in the country since quitting as a senior royal in early 2020 and the pair have since settled in California with their two children.

It came as they travelled to Europe to both attend the Invictus Games, which kick off tomorrow in The Hague.

However, missing from yesterday's meeting at Windsor Castle was Harry's brother Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge.

Much has been made of the rift between the two brothers with their frosty relationship, reportedly sparked by William's concerns over Harry's fast-developing relationship with Meghan ahead of their royal wedding in 2018.

Prince William and Kate Middleton alongside Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Getty Images)

The tense row quickly boiled over - with Harry claiming his brother was "trapped" within the royal system during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey after quitting as a senior royal.

And now royal expert Robert Jobson says that it is "significant" his brother and sister-in-law were not involved in the meeting.

He told the Mirror: "Significantly, Prince William and Catherine were not involved in these ‘clear the air’ chats.

"Hopefully, in time the royal brothers too can break bread and end this new war of the Wales’s, which is in danger of turning into one of the fictional soap style dramas Meghan used to star in.

William and Harry with their wives Kate and Meghan on Christmas Day 2018 (Getty Images)

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"For William to do that, however, Harry will have to show that he (and his team of PR image gurus and advisers) can keep their counsel at this early and delicate stage.

"If not, this promising development would all have been for nothing."

However, Robert says Harry and Meghan meeting with the Queen, Charles and Camilla does show that there is "some progress on the ongoing saga of Harry and Meghan's row with the Firm".

He explained: "Many still seem hell-bent on slamming Harry and his American wife, even after he reached out to his father with an olive branch and asked to meet Prince Charles and the Queen at Windsor. I am not in that camp.

Harry and Meghan with the Queen, who they met at Windsor Castle yesterday (Getty Images)

"At the heart of this dispute, one must remember is a family; and a family that has had more than its fair share of hurt and pain in recent years.

"The fact that Charles agreed to see his youngest son and daughter-in-law a short notice shows what we all knew: that he of course loves them. The big question was over trust.

"The Queen would rightly only see the couple after the air had been cleared with Charles.

"After all there are still the big concerns about what is in Harry’s so-called ‘tell-all’ memoir – with royal commentators’ suggestion Camilla is in for a rough ride in its pages.

"Time will tell on that.

Harry and Meghan will be at the Invictus Games this weekend (Kristin Callahan/REX/Shutterstock)

"But Charles and the Queen showed that – after all the back-hand behaviour by the Sussexes’ particularly the Oprah interview debacle and the snub over Prince Philip ’s thanksgiving service – that, for them, family and duty always comes first.

"If bridges are to be built, then the foundations must be laid. I am delighted Harry has seen sense and asked to meet his father and Her Majesty.

Meanwhile, Robert says that details of what might have been said at the meeting should remain private - especially if trust is to be established between them and the Firm.

He added: "After all, the Queen is about to turn 96 and Charles will be 74 in November. The meeting is understood to have been relatively short. Details understandably are sketchy.

"The Queen, who stripped Harry of his royal and military associations when he decided to walk away from being a full time royal and base his family in the US, has always said the Sussexes will always be ‘much loved family members.’

"She and Charles – by taking this first step – have shown they are good as their word. The next step hopefully will be them bringing their children, Archie and Lilibet to see the Queen, perhaps for the Jubilee celebrations.

"Nobody can truly know what was said, apart from those in the room. There were no aides present.

"But what is clear is that if a new trust – or truce – is to be established and to hold, these private chats much remain just that, and not be blurted by one of Meg’s anchor friends on a US network or discussed on the forthcoming fly-on-the-wall Netflix documentary.

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