Prince Harry was in high spirits hours before his long-awaited reunion with King Charles at the King's Highgrove estate, according to royal editor Roya Nikkhah. The meeting, which took place on Friday, July 10, was held away from cameras, with no official photographs released. However, Nikkhah shared insights on The Royals with Roya and Kate podcast about Harry's mood before and after the emotional encounter.
Harry's Buzzing Demeanor Before the Meeting
Nikkhah revealed that Harry appeared 'buzzing' while attending an Invictus Games engagement at Birmingham's NEC on the Friday, knowing the family reunion was due to take place the following day. 'What was interesting, I thought, was his demeanor when he was at Birmingham on Friday, when he clearly knew this meeting was going to happen. He was going to go from the NEC to Warwickshire. He seemed, and people who saw him there were like, he was pretty buzzing. He always is with Invictus, but he really was,' she said.
Post-Meeting Reactions and Family Dynamics
After the meeting, Nikkhah spoke to a member of Harry's team who indicated the duke had deliberately kept the details private. 'There was no leaking of what happened. There was no emotional response like we have had previously from Harry when he comes out to a meeting and says, "I don't know how much longer my father's got,"' she said. Instead, Harry was described as 'energized, buoyed, very happy' following the reunion.
The meeting at Highgrove included Harry's wife Meghan Markle and their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, who last saw their grandfather in person during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. Queen Camilla, who has a private home near Highgrove, was also present. The reunion is seen as another step towards repairing the strained relationship between King Charles and his youngest son.
Background of the Rift
Harry's relationship with Charles has been tense since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and made public criticisms through their Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix documentary, and Harry's memoir Spare. His rift with his brother, the Prince of Wales, also remains unresolved. In February 2024, Harry visited the UK shortly after Charles announced his cancer diagnosis, a trip widely seen as a first step toward reconciliation.
Podcast co-host Kate Mansey noted that Archie and Lilibet had not visited Britain since the Platinum Jubilee in 2022, and Meghan's last UK trip was for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral later that year. Reflecting on the reunion, she said: 'Four years have gone by. A lot has been said from Montecito about the King, about Camilla, about the rest of the family. It would not have been an easy meeting.'
