Prince Harry HAS spoken to King Charles despite reports of silence

Prince Harry has spoken directly to his father King Charles in the first week following his return to the UK, HELLO! understands.

The Duke of Sussex and the King have been in contact – although reportedly not face to face – despite headlines elsewhere suggesting that father and son had not yet spoken following Harry’s move back to Britain with his wife Meghan and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.

The development could mark an important step in the pair’s relationship after several turbulent years and comes as Harry and Meghan concentrate on establishing a new life for their family in Britain.

Australian royal reporter Bronte Coy also revealed on The Morning Show on Wednesday that her sources had confirmed direct contact between the father and son.

“I can tell you, actually, just from this morning, I’ve heard. They haven’t met face to face yet. But my understanding is that they have spoken on the phone,” she said. The claim contradicts some reports that the King and his youngest son had yet to be in direct contact. The King was at Balmoral, his holiday home in Scotland, at the time that his youngest son returned to the UK. 

Prince Harry and Meghan focus on Archie and Lilibet

For now, the Sussexes appear to be keeping a deliberately low profile as they tackle one of the most important practical elements of their move: getting Archie and Lilibet settled into school.

“The major thing has been getting the kids into school,” Bronte said. “That’s been a major focus. I think they’ve been laying pretty low while they figure all that out.”

Harry, 41, Meghan, 45, and their children quietly arrived in England on August 26 after six years based in California. The family plans to establish a private home in Britain while retaining their Montecito property. Details of where the children will attend school are being kept closely guarded.

The return has placed Harry geographically closer to his father than he has been for years. Sources close to the Sussexes have said that Harry has missed his home country, while the opportunity for Archie and Lilibet to spend more time with their British family is understood to have been an important consideration. The King has not seen his Sussex grandchildren in person for several years.

King Charles’ letter surprised Harry and Meghan

The apparent contact between Harry and his father comes despite fresh tension following an unusual intervention from Buckingham Palace this week.

On Monday, a formal letter authorized by the King was sent to senior government, military and regional officials reaffirming that Harry and Meghan remain non-working members of the Royal Family despite relocating to Britain.

It stated that their position had not changed since the agreement reached following their departure from royal duties in 2020 and described their current position as being “akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”

The Sussexes are understood to have had no expectation of returning as working royals. However, it was the manner in which the guidance was released, rather than its substance, that reportedly caught the couple off guard.

Harry and Meghan’s team received the contents shortly before they were distributed publicly, with reports indicating they had only around an hour’s notice and were unable to reach Harry before the information was sent to the media.

Bronte said the couple had been “unpleasantly surprised” by the development. “I do think this has landed quite, yeah, I think they were unpleasantly surprised that that went out,” she said.

The timing is particularly significant given that the Sussexes have only just returned to Britain and are attempting to establish how their independent public and charitable work will operate alongside the engagements of the working Royal Family.

Could Harry and Meghan create a ‘rival court’?

Their new proximity to the Prince and Princess of Wales is likely to make that balancing act more complicated. When Harry and Meghan were living more than 5,000 miles away in California, the distinction between their commercial and charitable activities and official royal engagements was easier to maintain.

Bronte suggested their presence in Britain could now create the perception of a competing royal operation, even if that is not the couple’s intention.

“It is a very different thing when they’re in another country,” she explained. “But effectively now it does have the appearance, even if they’re not trying to, of a rival court.”

Buckingham Palace’s letter appears designed, at least in part, to remove any potential ambiguity. The Lord Chamberlain wrote that the guidance was being distributed “to help avoid doubt or confusion”, making clear that Harry and Meghan’s charitable activities are undertaken privately and separately from the work of the monarchy.

Prince Harry’s first engagements after returning home

Harry has already quietly returned to work in Britain. He spent much of September 4 at London’s Tower Bridge Studios working on an undisclosed project, with someone at the studio describing him as “very, very pleasant” and saying the visit was “all very relaxed.”

The Duke is also expected to continue his longstanding work with WellChild, while preparations are gathering pace for the Invictus Games in Birmingham in July 2027.

But Bronte believes Harry and Meghan are likely to adopt a “softly, softly approach” while their children settle into their new surroundings.

Prince George starts at Eton

The Sussex children’s return to British education comes during a milestone week for their cousin Prince George.

The 13-year-old future King officially started at Eton College on September 8, accompanied by his parents Prince William and Princess Kate.

George follows in the footsteps of both his father and uncle Harry at the prestigious school, which is conveniently close to the Wales family’s home and will allow him to return home on selected weekends.

His arrival also comes amid a very different privacy landscape from the one William and Harry experienced at school.

Eton has reportedly introduced stringent measures around smartphones and photography, including the use of basic “brick phones” for pupils, as it attempts to protect students in the social media era.