Royal aides for King Charles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet at private London club
The Mail on Sunday photographed the all-important meeting at private members club Royal Over-Seas Lounge, of which King Charles III is a patron, on Wednesday. The pictures showed Charles' communications secretary Tobyn Andreae sitting at a table on the garden terrace with Meredith Maines, the chief of communications for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
Also present was Liam Maguire, who runs the public relations team for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the UK.
'There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years,' a source told the Mail on Sunday.
'There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.'
It's unclear who arranged the supposed peace talks, though Prince Harry, 40, has recently signalled his desire to reconcile with his family following Charles' cancer diagnosis being announced last February.
The pair had been feuding since Harry left the UK for a new life in America with Meghan and their son, Archie, in early 2020. They later welcomed daughter Lilibet in 2021.
A source told the outlet the secret meeting was a 'significant' step in repairing the damage.
'The King has consistently shown he loves both his sons and, as he has done in the past, is prepared to meet Harry when their diaries allow,' the source said.
'It's not unusual for aides from different households to meet, especially when there is a new influx of staff starting, but this is a significant moment.
'If there is a period of calm and reflection on the part of the duke, then there be a way forward for him to begin along the road of repairing his relationship with his father.'
However, the source added Harry's relationship with his older brother, Prince William, was a 'different matter entirely.'
'[It's] one which he [Harry] will find much harder to repair,' they said.
Following mounting reports of fractures within the royal fold, tensions first flared publicly when Harry and Meghan, 43, quit as senior royals and moved to the US. They then sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in which, most notably, Meghan accused an unidentified member of the royal family of casual racism regarding her then unborn son.
The pair also signed a string of multimillion-dollar deals which saw them produce bombshell tell-all content, including for their Netflix documentary and Harry's memoir, Spare.
But the tides appear to have turned for Harry in recent months.
After losing his legal challenge over his stripped taxpayer-funded security in the UK in May, Harry sat down with the BBC where he declared his hopes for reconciliation.
'I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,' he said.
Harry added the King 'won't speak to me because of this security stuff', but that he wanted to let it go because he didn't 'know how much longer my father has.'
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