It's going to be complicated, it might get messy — but the return of Harry and Meghan to the UK is certain to bring joy to the heart of one elderly gentleman: the King. For all the fire and fury their exit from the Royal Family has provoked, the saddest aspect of it all has been a grandfather estranged from two little people he hardly knows: Archie and Lilibet.
Charles' joy at grandchildren
Charles has gained great joy from his other grandchildren, George, Charlotte and Louis. Camilla has spoken about how he loves to play with them; he particularly enjoys reading to them and, as she put it, "doing all the voices".
I have grandchildren of exactly the same age as Archie and Lilibet, and can only imagine the pain of missing out on those first few precious years of their lives. Nothing can be done about that now, but with Harry and Meghan relocating to the UK, the King has a chance to make up for lost time.
Making up for lost time
He will relish showing the children Harry's old haunts: the treehouse at Highgrove, the hills and moors around Balmoral and the rivers teaming with salmon. They, in turn, will gradually absorb the reality of the strange world into which they have been born, where they are the sixth and seventh in line to a throne they presumably know so little about.
And so, although the King might rightly feel a little miffed that his son came to tea only a few weeks ago and failed to tell him anything about his plans, he must surely be delighted that his grandchildren are coming home.
Awkward family dynamics
Of course, this unexpected change of direction brings with it another problem: how William and Catherine will respond. It will make family events such as Christmas decidedly awkward unless William — justifiably wounded by Harry's attacks — also has a change of heart. Of that, thus far, there is no sign.
