:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/HarryLead-dc35cf6ca199421db3cd5fe42dbd7b01.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "Prince Harry Issues Statement After Reunion With King Charles")
Prince Harry met with King Charles for the first time since February 2024 on Wednesday. All signs point to the meeting having gone well, even if it was brief. Harry had one more engagement on Thursday morning, where he read a statement that paid honor to his late mother.
Prince Harry issued a new statement hours after reuniting with his father, King Charles
It was a short but productive trip to the UK for the Duke of Sussex. He not only visited several charities he is involved with, but also made time to visit his grandmother’s gravesite and reunite with his father.
Leaving the royal residence, Harry replied to a question about his dad’s health saying “Yes, he’s great, thank you.” He appeared “relaxed, smiling and upbeat” after the meeting, as reports the Mirror.
The Prince’s final engagement of the trip was a visit to the organizers of the Diana Award. The charity was founded in honor of Princess Diana and aims to recognize young people who demonstrate compassion and courage. He spoke to a number of young people at the event, before reading a heartfelt statement.
Referencing Diana, he said: “My mother believed in the power and agency of young people to positively impact the world. The Diana Award continues her legacy by putting young people at the heart of everything they do. Today is a perfect example of that. My message to everyone is don’t stand still, don’t stay silent – make them hear you because you speak for the majority.”
Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Ukraine pledging support for thousands injured in war
Exclusive: Prince and team from his Invictus Games Foundation were invited to Kyiv and will detail new initiatives to support wounded
Prince Harry has made a surprise visit to Kyiv after an invitation from the Ukrainian government, saying he wanted to do “everything possible” to help the recovery of the thousands of military personnel who have been seriously injured in the three-year war against Russia.
During the trip to the Ukrainian capital, he and a team from his Invictus Games Foundation are set to detail new initiatives to support the rehabilitation of the wounded, with the eventual aim of providing help to all areas of the country.
Earlier this year it was estimated that the Ukraine war had already left 130,000 people with permanent disabilities – and the government has now put rehabilitation through sport at the heart of its policy for helping veterans.
Speaking to the Guardian on an overnight train to the capital, the Duke of Sussex said: “We cannot stop the war but what we can do is do everything we can to help the recovery process.”
He added: “We can continue to humanise the people involved in this war and what they are going through. We have to keep it in the forefront of people’s minds. I hope this trip will help to bring it home to people because it’s easy to become desensitised to what has been going on.”
The prince said he was initially invited to Kyiv by Olga Rudnieva, the founder and CEO of the Superhumans Trauma Centre in Lviv, Ukraine which treats wounded amputees. He visited the centre in April, but met her by chance a couple of months ago in the US.
“I bumped into Olga in New York. It was a chance meeting and I asked her what I could do to help. She said ‘the biggest impact you have is coming to Kyiv’. I had to check with my wife and the British government to make sure it was OK. Then the official invitation came.
“In Lviv, you don’t see much of the war. It is so far west. This is the first time we will see the real destruction of the war.”
Ukraine first took part in the Invictus Games in 2017, but enthusiasm and need for the competition, which was founded by the Prince in 2014 for wounded veterans to compete in sports events, has grown dramatically since the conflict with Russia began.
The Duke remembered the reception Ukraine’s team received at the games in The Hague two years ago.
“It was remarkable. Every one of the participants had a journey to get to those games, but nobody from any of the other competing nations was going back to war. That is why the Ukrainians stood out. Everyone felt an immense connection to them. Some of the competitors were being pulled off the battlefield and were going back to the battlefield. It means so much to us, because it means so much to them.”
During the trip, the Prince is due to visit the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. He is expected to spend time with 200 veterans, who have also been invited. He is also due to meet the Ukrainian prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko.
Travelling to Kyiv would give him a chance to talk to veterans, and also see some of the destruction first-hand, he said. While the biennial Invictus Games have been the focal point of much of the foundation’s work, it has been increasing its sports recovery programmes to help provide opportunities for rehabilitation beyond the main games, including by providing sports equipment in Ukraine.
Natalia Kalmykova, Ukraine’s minister for veterans affairs, said sport had become “a key function in veterans’ healthcare.
“It’s thanks to our relationship with the Invictus Games Foundation that we established, and continue to develop, the role of sports in recovery in Ukraine and why it’s included in the veteran policy strategy.”
By March this year, more than 22,000 veterans across Ukraine had accessed benefits like gym memberships and pool passes.
Prince Harry set to meet with King Charles: “reconciliation is within reach”
But while the Duke of Sussex plans a private reunion with his father, Prince William is said to have rejected the peace talks, sources say.
Prince Harry is preparing for a long-awaited reunion with King Charles — their first face-to-face meeting in nearly two years. According to a new report, the Duke of Sussex will see his father when he returns to London in early September for the WellChild Awards, a charity event he has supported for years.
The meeting, expected to take place privately, comes after months of quiet behind-the-scenes talks between Harry’s team and Buckingham Palace officials. A source told the Mirror there is now “a determination on both sides to make this happen,” describing the upcoming encounter as a low-key but meaningful step toward healing a fractured relationship.
Harry and the King have not seen each other since January 2024, during which time Charles has continued cancer treatment. Insiders say the Duke wants a chance to reconnect with his father and keep lines of communication open. “For the first time in a long time, there’s a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach,” one source shared, according to the Mirror.
William says no to reconciliation
While Charles appears ready to extend an olive branch, Prince William is reportedly not interested in joining any peace talks. According to the report, the Prince of Wales believes Harry has too often chosen publicity over private resolution, leaving little room for trust.
Meghan Markle to remain in California
Despite the possibility of progress between Harry and his father, Meghan Markle will not be joining her husband on the trip. She is expected to stay in California with the couple’s children, Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4. King Charles has not seen his grandchildren since 2022.
Whether this meeting marks the beginning of a true reconciliation remains to be seen, but for Harry and Charles, royal insiders say the priority is “privacy and dignity” — and keeping the door open for future dialogue.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(426x575:428x577)/Queen-Camilla-departs-from-her-visit-to-Cornwall-Air-Ambulance-090225-b9331bd15c0e44909c6302d10c919161.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1 "From Camilla’s grit to William’s quiet influence: Revelations from a new royal tell-all")
