There is a notable absence in King Charles’ visit to the U.S.: the king’s younger son, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Charles and Queen Camilla’s itinerary for their four-day state visit is packed. The most prominent items on the agenda are the king’s address to Congress and the state dinner Tuesday in Washington. But there was also tea with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, a tour of the White House beehives and a garden-party reception at the British ambassador’s residence on Monday.
While the schedule will take the royal couple to New York and Virginia for events, including a wreath-laying at the 9/11 memorial, there is nothing scheduled for California, where Harry, Meghan and their children live.
There are several reasons for this.
Family fracture
Harry and Meghan made global headlines in 2020 when they announced they were stepping back from their roles as “working royals.” The changes that followed included the couple losing access to their taxpayer-funded security details. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Meghan talked about her mental health challenges amid palace life and said a royal relative — whom she did not name — asked during her first pregnancy about the likely skin color of her unborn child.
Buckingham Palace responded with a statement on behalf of Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, then the monarch:
The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.
Awkward visits home
Harry and Meghan returned to Britain in June 2022 to attend Platinum Jubilee events marking Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne — but were not present at all of the public celebrations.
The couple flew back to attend memorial events after Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022. That same year, it emerged that Harry had sued the British government seeking for his publicly financed security to be reinstated.
Harry, who is fifth in the line of succession to the throne, flew to Britain again in early 2024 after his father announced he has cancer.
The prince has made few visits to his native country since then, with most trips involving his legal case over security and separate lawsuits against British publishers.
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‘Spare’ makes a splash
In January 2023, Harry published a bombshell memoir, “Spare,” detailing his experiences growing up in the royal family, his marriage to Meghan and the death of his mother, Princess Diana. Harry’s account of a physical fight with his brother, Prince William, and criticism of his stepmother, Camilla, were thought to have inflamed grievances.
Harry later revealed that King Charles would not speak to him because of his lawsuit against the government over security. After he lost an appeal in his security lawsuit last May, he said in a BBC interview that he “would love reconciliation with my family.”
Noting that some relatives “will never forgive me for writing a book,” Harry said, “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”
There have been signs of thaw. Aides for Harry and the king were photographed meeting near Buckingham Palace last summer, which some media outlets reported as a step toward reconciliation. Father and son met for tea in September. Another government review of security requirements for Harry and his family was begun late last year.
Stealing the spotlight
Another issue is Harry and Meghan’s knack for making headlines. Harry traveled to Ukraine in September to promote his Invictus Games Foundation on behalf of wounded veterans. He spoke about his family on the trip. In a visit to Kyiv last week, the prince called for “American leadership” on Ukraine — remarks that Trump quickly panned as “not speaking for the U.K.” Although Trump has praised Harry’s brother, Prince William, as “wonderful” and a “remarkable son” to Charles, the president said last year that Meghan is “terrible” and called Harry “whipped.”
The absence of a specific meeting with Harry and Meghan may not be a personal snub. The British government requested the king and queen undertake this official trip. The agenda may reflect some of the king and queen’s interests, but it was organized around government priorities — not personal ones.
But given Trump’s past criticism and the years-old royal rift, the couple’s presence could be expected to distract from coverage of the king’s visit.
Autumn Brewington is a senior opinion editor at MS NOW. A longtime editor at The Washington Post, she oversaw the paper's op-ed page for more than seven years. She also wrote a Post blog and newsletter about the British royal family. She writes about royalty on Substack at http://autumnbrewington.substack.com.