Prince Harry returns to UK to be at King Charles’ side, in rare moment of unity amid family rift

Prince Harry has flown back to the United Kingdom to see his father, according to media reports, after the shock announcement on Monday from Buckingham Palace that King Charles III has cancer.

Harry, who arrived in London Tuesday afternoon from California, has been involved in a long-running, public falling out with his family in the years since he and wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from royal duties, though the duke did make a brief visit to the UK for Charles’ coronation last year.

The Duke of Sussex was photographed being driven into the gates of Clarence House, the King’s London residence, at around 2.45 p.m. (9.45 a.m. ET). Harry was seen in the photograph seated in the back of a black SUV. Harry took an 11-hour flight from Los Angeles to London overnight landing at about 12.30 p.m., British media reported. The reunion didn’t appear to last long – around 45 minutes – with King Charles and Queen Camilla departing London for his country estate in Sandringham by helicopter shortly afterwards.

Harry appeared to be heading home to the United States a day later, according to multiple British media outlets. The 39-year-old royal was reportedly seen arriving at Heathrow Airport in London on Wednesday but the departure flight and time was unclear. The brief father-son meeting has sparked speculation of reconciliation between Harry and his family, after years of estrangement. However, a royal source said there were no plans for Harry to meet his brother Prince William while he’s in London.

It was revealed on Monday evening that Charles, 75, was recently diagnosed while being treated separately for an enlarged prostate. A royal source told CNN that the form of cancer detected was not prostate cancer, but did not specify further. While Charles’ troubling health update stunned the nation, the British monarch called Harry before the palace issued its announcement. William and the King’s siblings – Princess Anne and Princes Edward and Andrew – similarly were informed personally.

It appeared that Meghan and the couple’s two children — Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet — did not make the last-minute journey with Harry. The Sussexes emigrated to the United States after stepping away from royal duties in 2020. The King’s younger son visited the UK on several occasions last year — most recently jetting over in September for a brief visit to attend the WellChild Awards, a charity he has been patron of for more than a decade.

The fifth-in-line to the throne did not see his immediate family before flying out to Germany for the start of his Invictus Games in Dusseldorf. He also traveled to London as his legal proceedings against UK publishers continued.