Since then, however, the relationship between father and son appears to have stalled.

When the Duke of Sussex returns to the UK later this month for his trial against Associated Newspapers, he is not expected to meet the King.

Harry will join other high-profile claimants as they take on the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

With the case now due to start on January 19, Harry is expected to join Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, the actresses Liz Hurleyand Sadie Frost, the campaigner Baroness Lawrence and the former MP Sir Simon Hughes at court for the breach-of-privacy case.

The King and Prince Harry in 2019

SAMIR HUSSEIN/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES

Associated Newspapers denies allegations of wrongdoing and has previously described the claims as “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.

Charles is understood to be reluctant to meet his younger son while legal proceedings are active.

So, while it plays out in the High Court, the King is expected to remain in Scotland as he usually does at this time of year.

But is Harry’s war with the press truly the only reason for Charles to stay away?

Over the past four years, Harry, 41, has taken aim not just at the media but the government and the palace, describing a decision to remove his police security in the UK as “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch up”.

A long-running battle with the Home Office over a decision to remove his police security resulted in defeat for the duke in May 2025.

Speaking to the BBC shortly after the verdict, Harry alluded to the death of his mother, the late Princess Diana by saying that “some people want history to repeat itself”, which he said was “pretty dark”.

It was understood that Charles found it problematic to meet Harry while he was suing his government in his courts over an issue that related to royal security.

Once the case was over, it should have paved the way for a rapprochement between father and son.

However, Harry appeared to take aim at the King.

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He said at the time: “There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands. Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him. Not necessarily by intervening, but by stepping aside, allowing the experts to do what is necessary.”

Now, in a curious case of trust having been eroded on both sides of the Atlantic, reports suggest that the palace could move to block his renewed attempt to have his police security reinstated.

A source told a Sunday newspaper that “security was now nailed on for Harry” following a new risk assessment and that “the only thing that could scupper his approval now would be an intervention from the palace”.

This confidence, on Harry’s side, appears to come from his successful bid for a risk management board (RMB), which will reassess his security risk level and provide support accordingly.

Yet government sources close to the RMB process said that the assessment had not yet been concluded.

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A source familiar with the process says: “I have no idea what the RMB recommendation to Ravec [the Royal and VIP executive committee] will be, but what I do know with certainty is that neither does anyone else, since they are still undertaking the review.

“On that basis, claims that a decision is already ‘nailed on’ seem more like an attempt to manipulate the media into manifesting an outcome from what will be a fair and rigorous review, but one that is very much still ongoing. Whoever is behind them must not realise how transparent and counter-productive to proper process that is.”

The RMB is expected to conclude later this month. It will then report back to Ravec, the executive committee for the protection of royalty and public figures.

Those close to the palace have denied that “an intervention from the Palace” could be organised to “scupper” the process.

A former royal aide said: “That is an entirely familiar and predictable narrative but one that is both unjust and inaccurate.

“The palace has no such powers within Ravec. While they sit on the committee it is not their role to advise on threat analysis or appropriate mitigations. That is for the actual intelligence and security experts to advise on — as of course they do whenever the duke’s visits to the UK are being reviewed under the existing Ravec process.

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“Yet when a decision goes against the duke it is claimed to be ‘an establishment stich-up’.”

Ravec, whose members include representatives from the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Royal Household, then work together to advise an independent chair.

A decision will then be made as to whether the risk posed to Prince Harry would require him to receive automatic security protection every time he returns to the UK.

It is timely as more trips are planned by the duke.

Later this year, he is expected to return to promote the “one year to go” marker for the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style sporting competition founded by Harry for veterans and serving military personnel.

In July 2027, the Games will be hosted in Birmingham around the time of Queen Camilla’s 80th birthday.

It is not known if Harry plans to bring his wife and children to the event, although his decision may be based on the outcome of his latest risk assessment.

Furthermore, the attendance of the King will depend on how his relationship with Harry develops over the next 18 months.

A government spokesperson said: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”

A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said: “We don’t comment on security matters.”

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.