'The first real concrete steps we've seen': Top aides to Prince Harry and King Charles III meet in secret London 'peace summit'
On Wednesday, the Duke of Sussex's new chief communications officer, Meredith Maines, and UK-based PR rep Liam Maguire were photographed meeting with the King's top aide, Communications Secretary Tobyn Andreae, at the Royal Over-Seas League, just around the corner from Clarence House.
The meeting, first revealed by The Mail on Sunday, reportedly had "no formal agenda" but there were "things both sides wanted to talk about".
It remains unclear who initiated the olive branch, but royal insiders say the casual sit-down is the most promising development yet in the years-long rift between Harry and the Royal Family.
"There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years," a source told the outlet.
Maines, who joined Team Sussex in March, was behind Harry's May BBC interview, where he openly declared he "would love a reconciliation" with his family.
Just a month later, the Sussexes made major staffing changes, parting ways with six team members, including two of their in-house PR leads, US deputy press secretary Kyle Boulia and UK press officer Charlie Gipson.
Speaking to Sky News Australia's The Royal Report on Sunday, contributor Bronte Coy described the latest meeting as a meaningful shift.
"Of course, we've talked so much about whether a reconciliation will be possible over the many, many years this rift has been going on," the News.com.au entertainment reporter told host Caroline Di Russo.
"But there are actually now photos of it happening."
Coy said the meeting marks "the first real concrete step towards some sort of reconciliation being met."
She also pointed to the timing- just weeks after Harry's BBC interview- as likely motivation.
"It perhaps served as that impetus for them to all get together, get in the same room and start saying, 'How are we going to end this for good?'" Coy said.
Maines, who was in the UK to meet with her London-based team for the first time, reportedly flew back to the US following the summit and debriefed the Duke directly on "the tone of the meeting".
News Corp columnist Angela Mollard noted that Tobyn Andreae, who now serves as Communications Secretary to both King Charles and Queen Camilla, was once an executive editor at The Mail on Sunday.
"Now, the fact that this has been seen, there are photographs of them meeting… It speaks volumes," Mollard said.
"I can't believe it's out there… There's someone there (at the Mail on Sunday) who wants to drive home the message that they are now looking at talking."
The royal thaw comes as Harry prepares to host the next Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027, with sources suggesting his family will be "very much welcome" at the event.
"It's obviously linked," Mollard said.
"What Harry's team are saying is that the Royals are always welcome at the Invictus Games, and it's super important to him to have members of the family there."
SkyNews.com.au has contacted both Maines and Andreae for comment.
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