Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been warned against making one move during their trip to the UK next month, or risk losing all trust from King Charles. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will bring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to the UK in July for the first time in four years, according to reports.
The couple will travel from California with their children to attend celebrations marking the one-year countdown to next year's Invictus Games in Birmingham. Harry, who has reportedly been assured the family will receive adequate security during the trip, is expected to meet his father while in the country, potentially marking the first time Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, will see King Charles in person since 2022.
While a reunion could signal a thawing in tensions between the Sussexes and the Royal Family, commentator Rupert Bell warned that Harry and Meghan could still jeopardise the relationship by doing one thing.
Commentator's Warning
"I hope if they're coming, they're kept away from the media," Bell told the Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered podcast. "If the King wants to spend time with his grandchildren, then that is fantastic. But what I think what we have to see from this is, they must not say a word about their visit, about what went on [to the press]."
"If they do, the trust that they're trying to rebuild with the King and others will fall flat on its face," Bell added.
Keeping Children Out of the Spotlight
Bell also suggested that Harry and Meghan would be best placed keeping Archie and Lilibet out of the spotlight after years of hiding their faces on social media. "I think that's what they need to do - build trust with the Royal Family that they're not going to go around parading [their children]," he said. "If they're going to the Invictus Games, it [should just be] the Duke and Duchess of Sussex."
King Charles's Wariness
Previous reports have suggested King Charles was "refusing to nail down a date" to meet his youngest son due to wariness about his intentions. This was said to be linked to comments Harry made to the UK press after meeting his father last year, in which he said his "conscience was clear", as well as remarks from Sussex insiders expressing reluctance to visit Sandringham next month based on "who was there".
Harry has levied a number of accusations at the King, the Queen, his brother William and sister-in-law Kate since moving to the US in 2020, variously claiming that Charles was jealous of Meghan and Kate, that the King was "never made" for single parenthood and that William physically attacked him and pushed him into a dog bowl.
