PRINCE Harry held talks with William and Charles after the pair asked to meet him together so that words could not be misconstrued, a royal insider has said.
The Duke of Sussex arrived back to the UK last week to attend his grandfather, Prince Philip’s, funeral on Saturday where he saw William for the first time in a year.
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest updates
They were seen walking solemnly behind their grandfather’s coffin – separated by their cousin Peter Phillips – as the world watched on.
The face-to-face meeting was held on the grounds of Windsor Castle following the service for the Duke of Edinburgh over the weekend.
A royal source said that Prince William and his father Charles met together with Harry to make sure that everyone fully understood each other.
“Obviously after the worldwide fallout of the Oprah interview trust has to be rebuilt,” a senior royal insider told the Mail Online.
“There was no official wake after the funeral, but Charles, William and Harry took the opportunity to speak and catch up face to face after many months apart.
“They were only able to spend a short time together outdoors given Covid restrictions and also without staff, including senior courtiers, overhearing what was being said.
“It was important to Charles and William that they were both there together.
“It means nothing spoken about can be misconstrued in the future.”
It comes as:
- Prince Andrew left his father’s funeral in a brand new £220,000 Bentley
- The royals have ‘agreed a rota’ for visiting the Queen on her birthday this week
- Charles and William will lead a summit on the future on the monarchy
- The heartbreaking photo of the Queen sitting alone at the funeral prompts calls to ease Covid rules
- The monarch faces her “loneliest birthday” this week
According to another royal source, the talks held were “baby steps” toward reconciliation following Harry and Meghan’s bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March.
“There is much pain and hurt on both sides, so this reconciliation will take place in baby steps,” the source told the Mail Online.
“First, they need to decide on some ground rules as to how they conduct business going forward in a way that makes all parties feel safe and protected.”
Charles and William have been given their full support from the Queen to deal with the situation with Harry.
The source explained: “The Queen has made it clear to senior advisers that she is united with Charles and William, and was disappointed with aspects of Harry and Meghan’s interview.”
During the Oprah interview, Harry accused the Royal Family of racism and Meghan blasted William’s wife Kate.
LEAKED CONVERSATIONS
It comes after reports that Prince William needs to know any future talks with his brother will stay private after Gayle King revealed their family chats weren’t productive.
According to Vanity Fair, one family friend said Harry was met with frostiness from his relatives after the 90-minute explosive chat.
It is thought the family were upset that Meghan’s pal Ms King revealed Harry had spoken to his brother and Prince Charles after the interview – but that the talks were “unproductive”.
One source said: “Harry was out in the cold after Oprah and then when details of private family conversations were leaked to Gayle King it was the final straw.
“Some family members cannot believe what he has done, but there is a feeling that with the Duke’s death and the family coming together, conversations need to be had.”
The magazine claims William spent some “time alone” with Harry walking around the Queen’s private gardens after the service on Saturday.
It also claims Prince Charles is “desperate” for a reconciliation with his son while William is more “hesitant”.
A source added: “William needs to know he can trust Harry and that private conversations will stay private.”
The source also said William and other family members “have some very strong feelings about some of the things Harry and Meghan said on Oprah”.
They added: “Things need to be talked through, but this was not the occasion and everyone respected that.
“It’s going to take more than a wake to sort things out, but this is hopefully a start.”
It comes after the news that Prince Charles sent away cars after Philip’s funeral to allow Harry and William the chance to talk.
Dickie Arbiter – the best-known of all the Queen’s former press secretaries – said Charles will have wanted his sons to ‘break the ice’.
And he told Good Morning Britain: “They were reasonably animated from what we could see.
“The cameras weren’t on them for long, but we did see they had a certain amount of animated conversation.”
Meanwhile, Prince Harry “brought his own security” from the US and was met by Scotland Yard protection officers when he landed in the UK for Prince Philip’s funeral.
And Royal fans are convinced Harry and Meghan will name their baby girl Lily in touching tribute to The Queen.
