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Prince Harry is hitting back in a rare statement, denouncing claims from a U.K. tabloid that his recent reunion with King Charles III was more formal than familial.

Harry, who stepped back from his senior royal responsibilities in 2020, reunited with King Charles earlier this month, marking the first meeting of the father and son in nearly two years. British tabloid The Sun later reported that Harry had left feeling more like “an official visitor” than a family member, and that the meeting was “distinctly formal.”

In a statement shared with People and BBC, a spokesperson for Harry called the reports “categorically false,” adding that the publication’s claims were “pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.”

Prince Harry reunites with father King Charles III for first time in over a year

USA TODAY has reached out to Harry’s reps for further comment.

The spokesperson also confirmed to the outlets that The Sun’s report of Harry gifting Charles a framed photograph was true, but emphasized that the interaction should have remained private.

“While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity, we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over,” the statement said, adding, however, that contrary to the story in The Sun, “the image did not contain the duke and duchess.” Harry lives with his wife, Duchess Meghan, and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, in California. The pair are involved in various entertainment and philanthropic efforts following their official exit from royal duties in 2020.

In their own statement to the outlets, The Sun pointed out that Harry had confirmed the details of the gift exchange, adding that he “was given full right of reply yesterday in advance of publication and opted not to give a response to the Sun’s carefully sourced account of the meeting.”

Harry and Charles’ reunion follows a tumultuous few years for the royal family marked by illness and infighting.

After a bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, a tell-all series alongside Meghan and a particularly revelatory memoir, Harry, who recently lost a legal battle with the British government over his security, said in May that he wanted to repair his family relationships despite past emotional tensions.

“Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course they will never forgive me for lots of things. But you know … I would love reconciliation with my family … There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. And life is precious,” Harry told the BBC.

Contributing: Edward Segarra, USA TODAY