With ongoing tensions between Prince Harry and King Charles and Queen Camilla, a potential family reunion at Sandringham this summer is not without its complications, a royal expert says

here are still tensions between the King and Queen and Harry and Meghan, despite rumours of a reunion this summer

A potential reunion between Prince Harry and his father this summer is fraught with complications due to the ongoing “trust issues” between the two sides, a royal author says.

It was reported last week that California-based Harry “would like” and invitation from his father, King Charles, to visit Sandringham this summer with Meghan Markle and their children.

The younger royal brother is expected to fly to the UK to celebrate the one-year countdown to next year’s Invictus Games, which is being held in Birmingham, and royal writer Richard Palmer says while a private invitation is not out of the question, there are some big hurdles to overcome.

A report quoted a ‘friend of Harry’s’ saying he would love an invitation to Sandringham for the whole family(Image: INSTAGRAM/@MEGHAN)

He tells the Mirror there is still “tension” between the two sides, although it’s clear that “the Sussexes’ team is in contact with Buckingham Palace”.

“I can see one potential problem there, which is if Meghan is launching As Ever in the UK during a visit here,” he tells the Mirror. “The King won’t want to be the backdrop or to be seen to be endorsing a commercial launch like that, so it will be important to consider the timing.

“But when they came over for Trooping the Colour during the Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, a senior source close to Charles stressed how wonderful it had been for him to see his grandchildren. I think he’s genuinely missing out there and regretting missing out.”

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are expected to spend at least a week at their Sandringham royal residence in July, following in the tradition of the late Queen, and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.

The King and Queen attended the annual Sandringham Flower Show in a carriage last year(Image: Getty Images)

“The Queen and Prince Phillip essentially took over the duties of the Queen Mother as Patron of the RHS Sandringham Flower Show, and would have a week up at Sandringham roundabout at that time in July, where she’d invite friends to a huge house party,” Richard says.

“Charles carried on the tradition and used to invite some of the Queen Mothers’ old friends to come, and then over the years it became more his friends and there were people like Jules Holland and Lord Rothschild.

“So it’s likely that Charles and Camilla will be there for a few days in July, and it would make perfect sense for Harry and Meghan and the children to go and stay at a royal residence with the King, if they’re hoping to try and build bridges.”

A new royal book published last month claimed Queen Camilla told a friend that Meghan had “brainwashed” Harry . The claims in Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family, the Sussexes’ to release a statement accusing its author, Tom Bower, of writing a “deranged conspiracy” theory.

Author Tom Bower made some shocking claims about Harry and Camilla’s relationship(Image: Matt Cardy)

In his own memoir, Spare, Harry described how he and Prince William “begged” their father not to marry Camilla, and that he wondered if she would become a “wicked stepmother”.

As such, Richard says the path to an in-person reconciliation this summer – which could include Meghan and Harry’s children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four – is not particularly smooth.

“But it’s not clear how keen Charles, or particularly Camilla is, on having that sort of reconciliation at the moment, I think they still have big trust issues with the Sussexes after what has happened and been said,” he adds.

“I get the impression that there are still massive tensions over what Harry has said about Camilla.”