Prince Harry was 150 miles away from his brother Prince William today on the penultimate day of his UK trip as hopes build of a meeting with father King Charles III.
The Duke of Sussex visited Imperial College London’s Centre for Blast Injury Studies, while the Prince of Wales headed to Cardiff to see a new mental health hub.
William arrived in Wales at 12.20pm at the Principality Stadium on World Suicide Prevention Day to see the hub. It is being launched by the Jac Lewis Foundation, set up in the name of a footballer who took his own life aged 27 in February 2019.
As for Harry, he arrived at Imperial College soon after at 1pm, having opened the centre in 2013. Clinically-driven trauma injury research is carried out at the building, and the King visited in February to highlight support for injured soldiers in Ukraine.
Later today, the Duke will be at an event linked to the Invictus Games, which he launched in 2014 as a sports tournament for injured service personnel and veterans.
Harry is three days into a rare four-day trip to the UK, carrying out a string of solo charity visits, but is yet to be reunited with the King or encounter his brother William.
However the King is rumoured to be returning to London from Balmoral this week, raising the possibility of a meeting with Harry during his son’s stay in Britain.
The Duke is expected to have around three hours spare for such a meeting between his two engagements in London this afternoon, and then some time tomorrow morning before attending another final event ahead of his flight back to California.
Harry arrived in Britain on Monday and attended the WellChild Awards at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel to celebrate the achievements of seriously ill youngsters.
He then took a trip to Nottingham yesterday where he visited the Community Recording Studio and announced a £1.1million personal donation to the BBC’s Children In Need to support young people affected by youth violence.
The Duke’s visit has re-ignited commentary about the state of his relationship with senior members of the Royal Family.
He remains estranged from William who was at Spiral Skills in Lambeth in South London yesterday promoting his Homewards project, an initiative that aims to find a blueprint to ending homelessness, with no prospect of the two meeting.
On Monday, Harry marked the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death by privately laying flowers at her grave in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
But he remained apart from William, with the Prince just seven miles away visiting a Women’s Institute branch in Sunningdale, Berkshire, in his grandmother’s honour.
Harry and Charles last met face to face more than a year and a half ago when the duke made a transatlantic dash to see the monarch in February 2024 after hearing of his cancer diagnosis, but they spent just over 30 minutes together before the King left to recuperate in Sandringham.
The Duke, who stepped down as a senior working royal along with his wife Meghan Markle in 2020, does not carry out official royal duties on behalf of the monarchy and remains estranged from much of the Royal Family.
Harry claimed in his controversial memoir, Spare, that William had physically attacked him in a row over Meghan, and that his brother and Kate encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party in 2005 and ‘howled’ with laughter when they saw it.
The Duke – who levelled other accusations at William, Kate and the King and Queen Camilla in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary and his autobiography – told the BBC in May that Charles will not speak to him because of his court battle over his security, and he does not know ‘how much longer my father has’.
Harry is reported to have not been offered a place at a royal palace and is said to be staying at a hotel at his own expense.
The Duke has previously spoken of his hopes for a ‘reconciliation’ with his family, saying: ‘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.’
He added: ‘But you know, I would love reconciliation with my family,’ and said there was ‘no point in continuing to fight anymore’.
Senior aides to the King and the duke were pictured together in London this July in what was reported to be an initial step towards opening channels of communication between the two sides.
As for William today, he was in Cardiff visiting the centre being opened by the Jac Lewis Foundation, which aims to ensure people can access rapid mental health and wellbeing support across Wales.
The new hub is due to provide support to hundreds of people who may be at risk of suicide and will operate as a safe place for people to drop in and access professional wellbeing and mental health services in their local community.
The Jac Lewis Foundation, which is based in Ammanford, also helps with practical issues relating to housing, finance, training and legal matters.
The hub is launching at the Principality Stadium through a partnership with the Welsh Rugby Union, with support from The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It will be based on the charity’s existing mental health initiatives, which operate at Ammanford and Swansea City Football Clubs.
The Royal Foundation’s support will enable the new hub to operate for one day per week over three years.
Funding will cover the cost of staff, counselling and transport costs to enable people to be assessed and offered treatment where they live.
During his visit today, William will meet with the family and friends of Mr Lewis, including his father Jesse Lewis and his teammates from Ammanford FC.
He will then join members of the Welsh Rugby Union and Swansea City FC to discuss the role sport has in communities and how their spaces, platforms and influence can be used to support the mental health of players and fans.
The project is part of the Royal Foundation’s Community Impact Programme, which aims to provide lasting impact and legacy in communities visited by William and his wife Kate.
