Prince William marks anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death as Harry returns to UK
But will the brothers find time to meet?
Prince William has marked the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death today, amid Prince Harry’s first time back in the UK in months.
Kensington Palace recently confirmed that William would visit Sunningdale, Berkshire, on September 8 for a commemorative event. But on Monday, his wife, Princess Kate, made a surprise appearance, joining her husband as they visited the Women’s Institute (WI) branch in Sunningdale. The late queen was a WI member for 80 years.
Meanwhile, Harry is set to attend the annual WellChild Awards in London, a charity for which he is a patron. According to reports, he landed in the UK on Monday morning.
On Tuesday, Harry will also visit a community recording studio in Nottingham. The same day, William will head to a youth organisation in Lambeth, London.
Harry has visited the Nottingham studio previously, in 2019, to mark World Mental Health Day. This time, he’s intending to speak to Children in Need, the Police and Crime Commission, and community outreach group Epic Partners, as well as chat to some of the young people he met on his last visit.
He hopes to highlight the work done by grassroots organisations including the recording studio, Epic Partners, and Coach Core. The latter is a sports apprenticeship body that William and Princess Kate’s Royal Foundation launched in 2012.
Will Prince William and Harry reunite during duke’s UK return?
There’s much speculation over whether Harry will reunite with his estranged brother and his father, King Charles, during his UK visit this week.
The king and Queen Camilla are currently at Balmoral and reportedly don’t have any public engagements scheduled this week.
Charles’ last face-to-face meeting with his younger son came over 18 months ago after his cancer diagnosis in early 2024. It reportedly lasted just over half an hour before the monarch left for Sandringham. However, senior aids to Charles and Harry were seen together in London this July. It was speculated that there may be efforts to repair their relationship.
Harry told the BBC in May that Charles won’t speak to him but that he hopes to reconcile with his family.
“Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things,” he said. He added that he’d “love reconciliation” and there was “no point in continuing to fight anymore”.
Both Harry and William, meanwhile, attended the funeral of their uncle, Lord Fellowes, last summer. However, according to reports, they didn’t interact.
With Prince William’s week looking full of engagements, as well as Harry’s itinerary appearing busy, it’s unclear if they’ll reunite during the Duke of Sussex’s UK trip.
Harry ‘wants his family to join him on a UK trip’
Harry will be in the UK without his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, this week. However, he reportedly hopes to bring them with him in a future trip.
Earlier this year, he said he didn’t believe it would be safe for them to visit Britain after he lost a battle with the Home Office over his level of security and police protection in the UK.
Meghan and Harry’s security was downgraded when they stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
But the Sunday Times has reported that he still hopes to take his family to the UK.
“He’s not given up hope on bringing his family back to the UK. He wants to be able to show his children where he grew up,” a friend told the broadsheet. They added: “He wants them to know their family here. He really would like to come back to the UK much more.”
Read more: ‘Low chance’ Meghan Markle will join Prince Harry on UK return visit
Royal Insider contacted Harry’s reps for comment and was directed to the prince’s BBC interview, in which he said he “can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point”.
He added to the BBC at the time: “I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
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