Harry ‘loved’ trip to UK and catching up with ‘old friends’ amid King reunion

The Duke of Sussex “loved” being back in the UK and “catching up with old friends” and colleagues, his spokesperson said, as Harry brought his trip to a close the day after reuniting with his father the King.

Harry visited the Diana Award in central London on Thursday morning for a final engagement, where he heard from young people about how social action has positively impacted their mental health.

In an impromptu speech, the duke said people of all ages including “probably old people” were having their mental and emotional health tested every day, and described how young people can feel isolated if “lost and separated from a group”.

The duke has previously expressed his hopes of reconciliation with his family amid his belief they may never forgive him after his public accusations.

In a move being viewed as a significant, but tentative step towards repairing their troubled relationship, Harry joined Charles for a private tea late on Wednesday afternoon, spending 54 minutes with his father at Clarence House after not seeing him face to face for 19 months.

The duke, however, remains estranged from the Prince of Wales.

The once-close brothers’ long-standing rift shows no sign of healing, with the pair not meeting during Harry’s four-day stay.

The Diana Award is notably still supported by both Harry and William in memory of their mother, Diana Princess of Wales.

But Tessy Ojo, chief executive of the charity, warned not to expect a joint appearance by the brothers anytime soon.

Dr Ojo said: “Do you know what, people are fascinated about seeing them together.

“I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside them for 25 years and for those 25 years they’ve always done things separately.

“When I first became chief executive that was one of the things they said to me, ‘We want to have our own projects’.

“The only one time we brought them together was the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death and that was when we launched our Legacy Award in 2017.”

She added: “It’s real honour to be able to work alongside both of them.”

Harry has been having meetings on a monthly basis over Zoom with Diana Award staff and has been to events in America but Dr Ojo said she was happy to have him on the ground in London.

He spent around an hour chatting to the assembled group and listening to a panel discussion with the charity.

The duke’s spokesperson revealed his stay in the UK had gone well: “He’s obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him.”

Just over an hour after finally meeting the King, Harry said his father was “great, thank you” as he attended an Invictus reception at The Gherkin in the City of London on Wednesday evening.

The duke was upbeat throughout the Diana Award visit but also struck a philosophical tone when he addressed the young people in the room.

Speaking from his seat to the panel, he said: “Thank you all for being here. I don’t know how you were as individuals, all of you… five, 10 years ago pre-Diana Award, but to see you sitting up here now with the confidence you have, speaking to a complete group of strangers is proof of the fact this whole thing works.”

He added: “You talk about the mental health piece that is woven through so much of this and it is, it’s emotional… it’s mental and emotional wellbeing.

“In every single Diana awardee, in every single young person and middle-aged person and probably old people as well, our mental health and our emotional health through our nervous system is being tested every single day.

“And this proven model of being engaged with or finding your purpose with social action, it really does work. You guys are testament to that. Otherwise you’re sitting there feeling somewhat helpless and somewhat hopeless.

“You have the hope. My point is that if you’re a young person it can sometimes feel as though you are lost and separated from a group and you feel isolated. But I can assure you that there’s nothing wrong with you.

“And there’s nothing wrong with young people out there. It is the society that we’ve allowed to be created around you.”

Harry also gave a warm hug to his father’s former press secretary Colleen Harris, who worked for Charles when he was the Prince of Wales for many years from 1998 until 2003, and knew both the duke and William well in their youth.

She is now a trustee of the King Charles III Charitable Fund.

The duke’s last engagement remained a solo one, with the prince seeking to turn the focus onto hope for the next generation.

He said in a statement: “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.”

He chatted to an intimate gathering of around 40 people after a panel with Lottie Leach, Elsa Arnold and Idorenyin Hope Akpan, all 23, which was chaired by Dan Lawes, a former winner of the organisation’s Legacy Award.

The duke then headed to the airport to fly home to California to be with his wife the Duchess of Sussex and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Harry last saw the King in February last year when he made a transatlantic dash to the UK to see Charles following his cancer diagnosis, spending only around 30 minutes together.

The King, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, was returning to Balmoral on Thursday, ahead of hosting US President Donald Trump at the high profile state visit at Windsor Castle next week.

The Princess of Wales was meanwhile carrying out visits to two textiles mills in Suffolk and Kent.

The duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, levelled a barrage of accusations at Kate, William, the King and his stepmother the Queen in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography, Spare, since moving to the US.

Harry previously claimed Charles was jealous of Meghan and Kate, did not hug him when he told him his mother Diana, Princess of Wales had died, and said he believed the King was “never made” for single parenthood, but “to be fair, he tried”.

Charles, according to the duke, pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral: “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.”

Relations between William and Harry have long been strained despite their former close bond with the shared trauma of the death of their mother in a car crash when they were 15 and 12.

The fallout is said to have begun before Harry’s wedding to former Suits star Meghan, with the duke accusing William of being snobbish to his bride.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan described how Kate made her cry ahead of her wedding – after reports had initially said Meghan had left Kate in tears at Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress fitting.

Another account in Harry’s candid autobiography Spare caused friction between the siblings, when he accused William of physically attacking him and pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan, and teasing him about his panic attacks.

He also alleged it was William and Kate who encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party in 2005 and “howled” with laughter when they saw it.