ROBERT JOBSON: It could be smart for King Charles NOT to fulfill Harry

A year on since his coronation, The King is a man on a mission.

The Crown is no longer in transition, this is decidedly his reign – and King Charles wants to make his mark.

This week sees His Majesty back in business following a break from public duties for cancer treatment, and in the wake of recent welcome news about his progress.

Today, for example, The King will combine a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with further medical appointments.

Tomorrow, the King and Queen Camilla will host this year’s first Buckingham Palace Garden party. It is heartening to see His Majesty so active again.

Yet, amid all this activity, it looks as though there will be no time to meet his younger son, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.

Harry is due to be in London ahead of Thursday’s service at St Paul’s Cathedral in honour of the Invictus Games, his project for wounded, injured and sick former service personnel.

But I’m told that father and son will not see each other on this occasion – that there have been no requests for a meeting.

Both men are understandably busy.

The prince, who no longer has a house in the UK, will make his own arrangements for accommodation. He won’t be staying at any of the Royal Residences and has made no request to do so.

Which means that yet another opportunity for reconciliation has seemingly slipped away. And who, you might ask, can be surprised?

Trust between the King and his younger son has evaporated since Harry published his best-selling memoir, Spare, last year.

The two men once shared a special bond but now each meeting between them seems fraught with the weight of previous disappointments.

It is a delicate dance, in which each step – and every mis-step – is scrutinised in the glare of a watchful public eye.

Who could blame the King if he viewed such encounters as more of a burden than a relief?

Today, in the sprawling saga that is the Royal Family‘s recent history, the relationship between The King and the Duke of Sussex is overshadowed with tension and misunderstanding.

We saw something of this earlier this year, when the news of Charles’s cancer diagnosis was made public.

No sooner had it been announced than Harry took it upon himself to take a ten-hour flight from his home in California to visit his father in what many saw as a well-meaning gesture.

Despite the significant effort involved, however, the eventual meeting between the two was awkward to say the least and lasted a matter of mere minutes.

Harry was not invited to stay at Clarence House, the King’s main London home, that night, or at any other Royal Residence. Meanwhile, his father almost immediately headed off to Sandringham in Norfolk for some rest and recuperation.

Sad though this might seem, the brevity was all too understandable given the patterns of previous behaviour.

Yet nothing changes this key fact: His Majesty’s love for his youngest son is enduring.

Despite chasms of miscommunication and the repercussions of a very public fallout, the family bond – at its core – remains unbroken.

The tragedy of the situation lies not in malice but in a series of unfortunate misunderstandings and external pressures that have calcified into an almost insurmountable barrier.

It is also true that, with his well-documented impulsivity and naivety, Harry might not always grasp the full implications of his actions.

His desire for transparency and change, while noble, can sometimes collide with the traditional expectations and obligations of royal life.

His actions suggest a man desperately seeking a foothold – yet failing.

Harry’s naivety can be dangerous, and not just for him but for all parties involved as it fuels the fires of speculation.

That’s why, if King Charles does choose to forego a meeting at this sensitive time, the decision will not be a fresh act of rejection or dismissal but rooted in a painful history.

And we should have the compassion to see it as such.

Why shouldn’t the King take a sensible protective measure that would guard both against further emotional strain and the rigorous demands of managing his health?

Ultimately, the hope for reconciliation remains alive, albeit tempered by realism.

The path to healing is labyrinthine and fraught with potential setbacks. But it is not yet closed.

We should hope for understanding and peace between a father and his son, against the backdrop of their very public roles and private pains.

Whether they meet or not in the next few days – and if they do, it is likely to be last-minute and fleeting – their dilemma is a poignant reminder of the human emotions at work behind the grand facade of royalty.

Robert Jobson is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Our King: Charles III – The Man and Monarch