Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are two of the most unconventional royals in world history. Before they got together, both of them generated plenty of headlines: Harry was a party boy with a checkered past, and Meghan was a rising star in American television. Unfortunately, Meghan being an American irked English citizens once she began dating Harry, as did her status as a divorcee. Once the two got married, they were a constant subject of tabloid media headlines. That only intensified when the royal rebels did the unthinkable, stepping down from most royal responsibilities and moving to America.
Once they moved to their new home, the duo made things worse by giving an infamous interview to Oprah Winfrey. In it, they discussed how Charles had cut them off and how senior royals had been racist towards Meghan. This created fallout with the Royal Family and deepened existing rifts with Charles and William. Unfortunately, that means Harry and Meghan’s children (Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet) don’t get to see their grandparents very often. Now, though, Harry surprised everyone with his desire to bring his children to see his estranged father.
The children rarely make it back to England
Whenever there’s family drama, nobody suffers quite like the children. Sure, they might not always realize what’s going on, but they can feel the vibes when people they love are fighting. That can create weird emotional trauma that they’ll spend a lifetime unpacking when they grow up. Even before that, though, they’ll start missing out on major opportunities. Case in point: when your parents move halfway across the world, it becomes a lot harder to spend any quality time with the rest of your family.
That is, of course, exactly what happened with Archie and Lilibet. The fact that they almost never see King Charles, their grandfather, is very bittersweet. It underscores the price that Harry and Meghan have paid: they wanted to get away from other members of their family due to alleged racist comments from at least one of them. Raising Archie and Lilibet in America insulates them from members of their family who might be a negative influence. Unfortunately, it also alienates them from anyone who might have been a positive influence.
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When Harry realized what his children were missing
Unsurprisingly, the move to America has been easier for Meghan Markle than Prince Harry. For her, this is coming home, where she gets to spend as much time with her mother as she wants. It’s been harder for Harry, though, who basically had to move away from his entire family and leave the only life he’s ever known. That’s a sacrifice he’s been willing to make for his wife. Reportedly, though, it’s a sacrifice he may be regretting for the sake of his children.
One insider close to Harry told News.com.au that Harry “would love to introduce the children to his wider family, to show them the [U.K.], where he grew up — his homeland. That would be a natural thing for any parent.” That doesn’t mean he’s going to try to move the entire family back to jolly old England or anything. But he recently had his security team conduct an overall risk assessment ahead of a trip to England in July 2026.
Time to meet the king
On paper, the main purpose of Harry’s trip to England is to attend the Invictus Games. This is an event that he began that helps to highlight both the sacrifices and athletic abilities of wounded soldiers. He’s made this trip before, and it’s usually been just him, or just him and Meghan. What makes this trip unique is that he decided to bring the children: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Harry likely has an ulterior motivation here (more on that soon), but he seems really bound and determined to allow his father to spend more time with his grandchildren.
Sadly, the last time Charles saw those grandkids was June 2022. Back then, Archie was still a toddler, and Lilibet was only one year old, so they likely don’t even remember the experience. Now, they’re both a bit older and will be easier for Charles to interact with and even play with. Such visits might become more common if Harry can do something that once seemed impossible: reconcile with his father.
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The first step to reconciliation
Prince Harry and King Charles have been functionally estranged for a long time; since before Charles took the throne, even. We found out about this in the messiest way during Harry and Meghan’s interview with Meghan Markle, where he described how his father had cut him off. That’s why, incidentally, the rebellious royals sought out media deals with Spotify and Netflix. Unfortunately, that estrangement seemingly got even worse over time.
Reportedly, Harry is hoping that this latest trip to England will help him reconcile things with his father, or at least begin the reconciliation process. If Harry can reconcile with dear old dad, he might even be able to reconcile with his brother, Prince William. For Harry’s sake, we can only hope his attempts at reconciliation work. Otherwise, he’ll have both the current and future Kings of England angry at him for the foreseeable future!