Prince Harry Returns To U.S. After 24 Hours After Visiting King Charles III On His Sickbed In London, Doesn’t See Brother Prince William

Prince Harry swiftly departed for California after a brief 24-hour return to the United Kingdom, a visit in the wake of news of King Charles III‘s cancer diagnosis, which came just 17 months into his reign.

The royal scion was sighted at Heathrow Airport on Wednesday afternoon, having arrived on a red-eye flight from Los Angeles the previous day around 2 p.m. The 39-year-old was promptly escorted, with a convoy, to Clarence House, one of the regal abodes nestled in the esteemed London borough of Westminster, where reports suggest he had a 45-minute interaction with his father.

Rather than staying at one of the numerous available royal residences (as he had in his September homecoming), Prince Harry sought accommodation at a local hotel, a decision that seemingly reflects the altered circumstances that followed in the wake of his memoir Spare. The candid memoir led to a formal request in June that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle relinquish their keys to Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor Castle residence.

Prince Harry’s departure after a brief encounter with his father has ended hopes of a reconciliation with his brother, Prince William. Despite their previously close relationship, the siblings have been estranged ever since Harry voiced his grievances regarding the treatment of his wife in her transition into royal life. After months of rumors and palace intrigue, Prince Harry and Markle relinquished their royal duties and moved to Montecito, California, to raise their children.

Prince William resurfaced in the public eye on Wednesday and attracted fresh scrutiny after a hiatus of three weeks from royal engagements. As the heir to England’s throne, he presided over an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle and was scheduled to attend a fundraising gala for the London Air Ambulance. Notably, the prince had last been seen in mid-January when he cleared his schedule to support his wife, Kate Middleton, during her hospitalization for abdominal surgery on January 16.

Following his encounter with his younger son, King Charles III retreated from London to his residence in Sandringham. With all public obligations postponed, the king is set to receive outpatient treatment and conduct his weekly meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak via telephone.

In a rare move, Buckingham Palace made the unprecedented announcement of the king’s cancer diagnosis and emphasized his determined positivity towards treatment and a strong desire to resume full public duty at the earliest opportunity.

A new book recently revealed that Charles refers to Harry as “that fool” in private.