Charles only got 15 minutes: Harry and Meghan: Here’s how their meeting with the royal family went

Before their appointment in The Hague, the couple stopped at Windsor Castle to visit Queen Elizabeth II. There was also a meeting with Prince Charles – which is said to have been anything but easy.

The Invictus Games, for which Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan traveled to Europe, start this Saturday in The Hague, Netherlands. On the way there, the couple Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles paid a surprise visit to England. The first details about the meetings of the royals have now leaked.

“A Symbolic Olive Branch”

The British tabloids “The Sun” and “Daily Mail” report that Prince Harry initiated talks with his relatives to make them a peace offer. “The meetings were a symbolic olive branch for Harry to come clean,” an insider is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

Prince Charles was very happy about his son’s offer and accepted it. Queen Elizabeth II also agreed to the visit, but made it a condition that Harry and Meghan had to speak to Charles beforehand. The 95-year-old saw the meeting shortly before Easter – a celebration that she saw as new beginnings and forgiveness – as a chance for reconciliation, it said.

15 minute blitz meeting with Prince Charles

According to consistent reports, Harry and Meghan met Harry’s father, Prince Charles, at Windsor Castle around 10am on Thursday. The conversation only lasted 15 minutes. Duchess Camilla also joined the royals during the conversation. Prince Charles was “anxious” about the meeting because of what had happened before, a friend close to the royal told the Daily Mail.

“He loves his son and has been heartbroken since everything that happened, although he is afraid that history will repeat itself and what happened to Princess Diana will happen to Harry,” the unidentified source continued. Prince Charles therefore wanted to “keep the door open” for his son and continue to talk because he regretted not having done this with Diana at the time. Another insider told The Sun that Charles was delighted to have the couple with him.

“Much less tense”

After meeting Prince Charles, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan moved on to the Queen’s private apartment. The mood there was “much less tense,” other sources report. There are no details about the conversation with the 95-year-old.

Insiders see the meeting as a good sign for the relationship between the royal head and her grandson. With their visit, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan could have reduced the suspicion that they were avoiding the Queen.

It was the first visit to the UK together for Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan since stepping down as senior royals and moving to California in 2020. Later, a joint interview with Oprah Winfrey and the announcement of Harry’s planned memoir caused an uproar in the royal ranks. The couple have apparently traveled to Europe without their children, Archie and Lilibet.