Prince Harry unable to meet father King Charles during UK visit due to ‘full’ Monarch schedule

The Duke of Sussex returned to his home country to celebrate 10 years of the Invictus Games

Prince Harry will not meet his father King Charles during his trip to the United Kingdom, PEOPLE confirms.

A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex, 39, said: “In response to numerous inquiries and continued speculation about whether or not the Duke will meet his father during his stay in the UK this week , this will unfortunately not be possible due to Her Majesty’s decision full program The Duke of course includes his father’s engagement diary and various other priorities and hopes to see it soon.

King Charles, 75, recently returned to public royal duties after working mostly behind the scenes for several months amid his cancer diagnosis and treatment. On May 7, the monarch held an audience at Buckingham Palace to welcome the Prime Minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka. Buckingham Palace is also set to host the first garden party of the season on May 8, although it is unclear which members of the royal family will attend.

Prince Harry returned to his home country for celebrations surrounding the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, which had its inaugural competition for injured and ill military personnel and veterans 10 years ago in London. The anniversary is marked with a panel on Tuesday and a service at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday, where Harry will give a reading and Country actor Damian Lewis will recite the poem Invictus. (The poem’s author, William Henley, is commemorated by a memorial bust in the cathedral crypt.)

Related: Meghan Markle won’t join Prince Harry in the UK next month before heading to Nigeria together

The Duke of Sussex recently visited the UK in February following the news of King Charles’ cancer diagnosis. Prince Harry flew from California to see his father at Clarence House in London, where they had a brief private meeting.

A royal source said there were “no plans” for brothers Prince Harry and Prince William to reunite while the Duke of Sussex was in the UK in February. At the time, Kate Middleton was recovering from her abdominal surgery in January. On March 22, the Princess of Wales revealed that post-operative tests from the procedure “revealed the presence of cancer” and that she had begun chemotherapy.

Speaking of reunion with his father Hello America shortly after, Prince Harry was asked how he first learned of the monarch’s cancer news. He replied: “I talked to him. I jumped on a plane and went to see him as soon as I could.”

“Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go see him and spend time with him, I’m grateful for that,” Harry said in the interview.

Regarding his opinion on the king’s health, Prince Harry said: “That remains between him and me.”

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As for whether King Charles’ diagnosis could have a “unifying effect” on the royal family, Harry, who at the time was in contact with Invictus Games competitors and their families in Canada during the training camp winter, said: “Absolutely. I’m sure. In all these families, I see it on a daily basis, the strength of the family unit coming together.”

“I have my own family, like we all do,” he continued. “My family and my life in California is as it is. I have other trips planned that would take me across the UK or within the UK, so I will stop and see my family as much as possible .”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to his home state of California after stepping down as working members of the royal family in 2020 and eventually settled in Montecito. Although Prince Harry has returned to the United Kingdom several times, including for charity events and court cases he is pursuing, he rarely reunites with King Charles or other members of his family.

After his trip to the United Kingdom, Prince Harry and Meghan will travel to Nigeria. PEOPLE previously confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had accepted an invitation to visit the African country next month on behalf of its chief of defense staff, the top military official.

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