Expert reveals truth behind King Charles III's 'snub' of Prince Harry's major milestone in London

It was only weeks ago when Prince Harry formally confirmed he is now a resident of the United States, but the Duke of Sussex is notably back in his former homeland for a whirlwind trip marking a very special occasion.

Not a single member of his paternal family, however, has been by his side while Harry, 39, marked the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games, an initiative set up by the duke to support injured servicemen and women in 2014.

His maternal family members – namely, Princess Diana's brother Earl Spencer and sister Lady Jane Fellowes – joined Harry at the emotional Service of Thanksgiving service just three kilometres away from where King Charles III was hosting Buckingham Palace's first summer garden party of the year.

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Queen Camilla, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester were also seen at the garden party, while Prince William was being made colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps – Harry's former regiment – at the time.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, meanwhile, has Catherine, Princess of Wales.

The fact that not a single member of Harry's paternal family attended his milestone events was only compounded by the confirmation that Charles wouldn't be seeing his 'spare' at all while he's across the pond from his California home, which he shares with wife Meghan Markle, 42, and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

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"In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty's full program," a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said ahead of his London trip this week.

"The duke of course is understanding of his father's diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon."

Relationship expert Louella Alderson has suggested that despite Charles' "snub" of his youngest son, there is the possibility of them to move past their 'rift' – which first became evident when Harry and Meghan resigned as working royals and fled the UK in 2020 – but it would take a lot of work.

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"It does show that there is still a lot of work to be done before they can move forward," Alderson told the Mirror, saying the "snub" does not "necessarily mean their relationship is beyond repair".

"It's possible that with time and effort, they could eventually mend their relationship, but for now, it seems like they are not yet ready to do so," she continued.

"It appears there is a long road ahead for healing and rebuilding their relationship," Alderson said, adding that Charles deciding not to see Harry on his rare trip to London "speaks volumes about the current state of their relationship".

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She said: "If they are not even meeting, it suggests that there is still hurt and resentment on both sides."

The last time Harry was confirmed to have seen Charles was in February, with the duke flying to London shortly after the King's cancer diagnosis was made public.

Harry is understood to have seen his father for less than an hour, before departing for Montecito the next day.

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