The Duke of Sussex is not expected to meet his father King Charles on his next trip to the UK, when he comes to give evidence in a court case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
It is expected that the King will keep his distance during such a court case, which, unless it is settled beforehand, is due to start later in January.
On his previous trip to the UK last September, Prince Harry had a private meeting with his father in London that was seen as a symbolic step towards improving family relationships.
It followed a BBC interview with Prince Harryin which he talked of the importance of “reconciliation” with his family.
There still seems to be uncertainty about the court timetable, but later in January a civil case will be brought by Prince Harry and others claiming that Associated Newspapers’ publications gathered information by unlawful means.
Among the other plaintiffs are Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, mother of the murder victim Stephen Lawrence.
Associated Newspapers Ltd has strongly denied the “preposterous allegations”.
But the court case could see Prince Harry giving evidence and facing questions about his claims about how information was obtained for stories written about him.
During a visit for a previous court case in 2023 against Mirror newspapers, Prince Harry did not meet his father.
A separate claim against News Group Newspapers was dramatically settled in January 2025, with an out of court settlement reached just as the case was getting under way, with the newspaper group apologising and paying damages.
Since then Prince Harry and King Charles had their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months,when they had tea together at Clarence House in London in September 2025, during a week of engagements for Harry in the UK.
The meeting appeared to be a sign of warming relationships and followed Prince Harry saying in a BBC interview: “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious.”
But as the Telegraph first reported, it is not expected that there will be a meeting on this latest visit.
There could be a smoother path to future visits though, with a review taking place of Prince Harry’s police protection when he is in the UK.
Harry has cited his security worries as a major barrier to visiting the UK, and why he is reluctant to bring his children, and an upgrading of his security could make that less of an issue.
However no decision on his security has yet been confirmed.
By BBC News
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