Why Harry and Meghan's Aussie tour may derail planned reconciliation with King

Harry and Meghan's non-royal royal tour of Australia may have been hailed a success by the couple, but it may derail any chance of making up with the royal family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in Australia from April 14 to 17 for a mix of philanthropic and money-making endeavours, which is thought to have made the palace very wary.

But with Prince Harry reportedly wrangling for an invite for himself and his family to Sandringham estate over the British summer, one royal expert believes extending an olive branch to the Sussexes could help King Charles finally get on better terms with his son.

Royal journalist Richard Palmer told The Mirror that an in-person reunion at Sandringham might be the only solution if the King wants to have a relationship with Harry and grandchildren.

"Spending a few days together at Sandringham or another royal residence could enable some sort of showdown that clears the air," Palmer said.

"Many in the outside world think they all need to move on and that even though it'll never be the same again, they could have some sort of a more normal relationship.

"The King finds it incredibly painful that he can't see his grandchildren, but is very cautious about re-engaging."

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King Charles reportedly last saw his youngest son's two children in June 2022, when the Sussexes travelled to the UK for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The couple used the timing of the event to hold a first birthday party for Princess Lilibet at their former home, Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor, but no senior members of the royal family attended.

Instead, King Charles reportedly met his granddaughter, who was born in the US a year earlier, during the same trip, and also reconnected with his grandson, Prince Archie, who was then three.

King Charles last met Prince Harry at Clarence House in September 2025 when his son was in town for the WellChild Awards.

The meeting, which became public when Prince Harry was seen arriving at the King's London home, was said to have lasted just 50 minutes.

The King and Queen Camilla are currently in Washington the US for a four-day state visit but are not believed to be travelling across the country to see the Sussexes.

Instead, the best chance of a reunion will be in July when the Duke is expected to travel to Birmingham in England for an event marking one year until the 2027 Invictus Games.

Palmer said the "people around" the King believe "there needs to be some sort of accommodation reached" between the King and Harry.

"Perhaps the way of getting that is by allowing them all to get together away from the cameras, have them all say the things that need to be said, and to spend some quality time together and start being a family again," he said.

But one huge stumbling block that could prevent this happening is the Sussexes recent trip to Australia.

The 'non-royal royal tour' was believed to have raised concerns among members of the royal family, especially in relation to its commercial nature.

A major area of concern was Meghan's decision to use the tour to launch a partnership with AI fashion platform OneOff.

The Telegraph in the UK reported alarm bells were raised in royal circles that Meghan was earning money from a shopping platform built around the outfits she wore while on charitable engagements.

Among Meghan's 'looks' on the app is the outfit she wore for their first stop on the tour: a trip to Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital to meet patients.

She even offered up the look for her visit to Bondi to meet with survivors of the mass shooting.

While the landing page for OneOff lists her as 'Meghan', click on the link and you will find she is also referred to as 'Duchess of Sussex'.

This kind of commercialisation of royal titles was something the late Queen wanted to avoid when the couple first announced in January 2020 that they were stepping down as working members of the royal family to forge their own path.

It was one of the sticking points that was hashed out in the so-called Sandringham Summit that took place later that month and forced them to give up their lofty idea of a half-in, half-out approach to royal life.

As part of the final agreement reached in 2020, Harry and Meghan agreed to stop using their Duke and Duchess titles for commercial purposes.

Yet, they have continued to do just that ever since, and according to Palmer, their trip to Australia showed they "essentially got what they wanted, which is to be half-in, half-out of royal life".

Then there were the comments Prince Harry made about his father and late mother, Princess Diana, during his trip to Australia, where King Charles is head of state.

He was not only critical of his father's parenting, but said in a separate speech that being a royal "killed my mum".

Palmer noted that what Harry said was nothing compared to what he said in the Netflix series or his autobiography Spare, but that's not the issue.

"The monarchy is all about public service, not private gain, and non-working royals who are as high-profile as Harry and Meghan appearing to cash-in on their royal status attracts uncomfortable attention for the palace," he said.

And while the Sussexes aren't funded by the taxpayer, or officially representing the UK, they appear to be earning money from things like the "quasi-royal tour".

And that is where the concerns from the palace have come from.

It also puts the King in an awkward position moving forward.

"One of the big risks if they come over to Sandringham and stay with the King and Queen Camilla is that it's a very high-profile trip, and if Meghan's selling replicas of her clothing and Harry's making money doing speeches, then the King is looking like he's helping them to make money," Palmer said.

"That is a big risk for the monarchy."

And one none of the royals are likely to want to take.

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