Prince Harry will return to his hometown of London next week, but his chances of an awkward run-in with estranged family members Kate Middleton, Prince William, and King Charles III are slim. As the royal scion travels from his California home to the UK for a January 21 court date in his lawsuit against tabloid conglomerate Associated Newspapers, his father, brother, and sister-in-law will be headed out of town, dashing hopes that this visit could spark a reconciliation.
The latest phase of the joint lawsuit pits the Duke of Sussex, Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and others against the publishers of the Daily Mail. The plaintiffs accuse the publisher of engaging in illegal intelligence gathering practices, including the alleged use of private investigators who placed listening devices in the plaintiffs’ proximity. (Associated Newspapers denies any wrongdoing.)
This visit to the UK for a righteous cause might have been a good opportunity for Harry and Charles to build on the brief meeting the father and son had last September. But it is not to be, as Charles—who recently deposed his sister, Princess Anne, as the UK’s hardest-working royal—has an official engagement in Scotland at that time.
Kate Middleton and Prince William will also be hundreds of miles away from the British capital, as the couple has two joint appearances scheduled in Scotland that day: First they will visit the National Curling Academy in Stirling to meet with Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic curling teams ahead of the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Then they’ll visit hand-weaving studio Radical Weavers, which serves as an educational charity that teaches the Scottish tartan tradition and therapeutic qualities of weaving, while creating blankets and textiles to donate to those in need.
While Harry and his father interacted last fall, it’s been far longer for the royal brothers. The pair have reportedly failed to speak for more than three years, with the last conversation seemingly held at Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022.
The family will have another chance to speak this summer, when the Invictus Games—which Harry founded—scheduled to take place in Birmingham on July 10. Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, is also expected to join him for the sporting event, the first time she’ll join Harry in the UK in four years.
