The King was reunited with his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet on Friday.
Charles and Camilla secretly hosted Harry, Meghan and their two children at Highgrove in a long-awaited meeting.
It took place at the monarch’s private Gloucestershire residence, a short drive from both Oxfordshire, where Charles had been undertaking official engagements, and Birmingham, where the Duke of Sussex had been at an event for a countdown to his Invictus Games.
The get-together was organised amid a shroud of secrecy.
Charles has not seen California-dwelling Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet since 2022, when they were just three and one.
He last saw Harry, 41, in September last year but earlier this week was forced to publicly slap him down after Harry’s PR team falsely briefed that he had accepted an invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace during his visit to the UK this week.
In fact, after weeks of refusing his father’s invitation, he accepted too late.
Harry arrived in the UK on Monday. The following day he lost his High Court case alleging wrong-doing by Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail, and yesterday he started the year-long countdown to his Invictus Games.
Prince Harry pictured with his children Archie and Lilibet in a Fathers Day post. The children met their Royal grandparents on Friday for the first time since 2022
King Charles and Queen Camilla secretly hosted Harry, Meghan and their two children at Highgrove
Meghan and the children slipped into Britain unnoticed from their holiday home in Europe.
Buckingham Palace refused to discuss any further details of what was described as a ‘private family occasion’.
The King and his senior officials had always hoped for a low-key, ‘peaceful’ family reconciliation, but weeks of leaks and briefings by Team Sussex had left them both ‘weary and wary’.
Both Charles and Camilla have been vilified by the prince in multiple interviews and documentaries, not to mention his memoir and sources described the situation as ‘sad’ for the King who is 77 and still living with cancer.
No images of yesterday’s meeting will be released. And, while the move will be welcomed as a thaw in family relations, palace courtiers will no doubt be carefully watching the Sussexes’ next move.
Meghan Markle pictured with Archie and Lilbet. The trio slipped into the UK from their holiday home in Europe
Meanwhile, although they were barely 100 miles apart on public engagements yesterday Prince William and his estranged brother might still have been on different sides of the Atlantic.
The heir to the throne was supported by his beaming wife, the Princess of Wales, as he led his team to victory in the DMMI Royal Charity Cup at the Guards Polo Club at Windsor.
Sporting an eye-catching black and white gingham Alice Temperley dress with £260 low-heeled nude Camilla Elphick sling-backs, Catherine, 44, cheered her husband from the sidelines then presented him with a trophy – and a kiss on each cheek for good measure – before they left, smiling, hand in hand.
The event was raising funds for ten charities supported by the couple, ranging from homelessness to mental health. In the 15 years William has taken part in the event he has helped to raise more than £15million for good causes.
On the day of the reunion, Prince William was in action at the Guards Polo Club in Windsor, watched by his wife, Princess Catherine
Harry was interviewed by Alison Hammond for This Morning at an event for his Invictus Games
By contrast Prince Harry was riding solo at an event in Birmingham to mark the one-year countdown to his Invictus Games for injured service personnel, which returns to the UK next July.
Barely days ago his spokesman had announced that Meghan would be joining him as part of a week of public engagements.
Even after Harry, 41, began prevaricating about the trip over apparent fears for his family’s security, his team were stressing to friendly media that she still planned to attend.
But on Thursday night his spokesman announced the Duchess of Sussex had pulled out.
They said she still planned to travel to England with their children but would no longer take part in public events.
However it was strongly hinted that she would be present for ‘private’ family moments, raising the prospect of a meeting with the King, as well as what has been described as a ‘family reunion’ with the Spencer family at Althorp, Princess Diana’s ancestral home.
In Birmingham one observer said Harry had his ‘game face’ on.
He gave an ‘interview’ to This Morning’s Alison Hammond, which consisted mainly of her telling him how wonderful he was, as well as a speech in which he urged people to learn from the ‘Invictus community’.