Harry offered ‘olive branch’ to Prince Charles before secret meeting with Queen
Tensions between Harry and his family have been fraught in recent months.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met with Prince Charles before seeing the Queen in their first meeting since they quit the Royal family.
Harry and Meghan stopped off at Windsor Castle on Thursday before heading onwards to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands.
The duke is understood to have initiated the quick visit to Windsor to see his grandmother, who turns 96 this month.
It is unclear whether he also asked for a meeting with his dad or whether the monarch suggested it.
But it has been reported that Harry was only permitted to see the Queen if his meeting with Charles went well.
Relations between senior members of the royal family and the Sussexes have been fraught since the pair stepped back from royal life.
Comments the couple made during their televised interview with Oprah Winfrey are understood to have heightened tensions further with Harry reportedly ‘barely speaking’ to Prince Charles in recent months.
The Sussexes also failed to attend the memorial service for Prince Philip last month.
Thursday’s meeting is understood to have been viewed as a ‘crucial first step’ in improving relations between Harry and his family.
Harry and Meghan are believed to have met Charles at around 10am for 15 minutes, with Camilla joining the meeting halfway through.
Harry is said to have used the meeting to offer Charles an ‘olive branch’, The Sun has reported.
‘Harry contacted his father and said he was coming over with Meghan and he wanted to meet,’ an insider told The Sun.
‘Harry instigated it all. It was an olive branch from Harry and made in an effort to clear the air.
‘He made the approach to Charles who was obviously very happy, and accepted.
The source told the paper Charles ‘wants to heal things with his son and his daughter-in-law’ and wants to meet his grandchildren.
‘Charles maintains that Harry is a much-loved son and is always welcome to come back and visit,’ they added
‘The Queen agreed to see them both but only after he had met Charles first.’
Harry is understood to have always had a good relationship with his grandmother, who he is always ‘able to make laugh’, a royal insider told MailOnline.
After stopping off in Windsor, Harry and Meghan continued to the Netherlands where they were seen in public together outside of the US for the first time since stepping down as senior royals.
The pair were in the Hague to watch this year’s Invictus Games, with a Netflix film crew in tow.
Netflix is filming Harry’s documentary ‘Heart of Invictus’ about the Paralympic-style games, as part of the couple’s $100million deal with the streaming giant.
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