Prince Harry has issued a strongly-worded statement to address claims about his recent meeting with King Charles.
The Duke of Sussex released a statement on Saturday which described some reports of the meeting, which took place earlier this month, as “categorically false”.
He said quotes attributed to him after the event – including that he had felt more like an “official visitor” than a “relative” – were “pure invention.”
A spokesperson for Prince Harry said in a statement to The Independent: “Recent reporting of The Duke’s view of the tone of the meeting, is categorically false. The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.”
The spokesperson went on to address reports published in The Sun that Harry had given his father a photograph of himself, his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
The statement said: “Presumably, those same sources have also chosen to disclose that gifts were exchanged.
“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; however, the image did not contain the Duke and Duchess.”
Harry had tea with King Charles, 76, at Clarence House on Wednesday, 10 September, in what was their first meeting for 19 months. The Sun article claimed Harry had been surprised at how “formal” the meeting was.
Prince Harry arrived at the residence in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm, and left after about an hour. He later attended an Invictus Games event in London as part of his four-day visit to the UK.
Asked about the meeting during that event, the duke said of the King: “Yes he’s great, thank you.”
Harry had not seen his father in more than a year, and said in a BBC interview in May: “I would love a reconciliation with my family.”
He said at the time that his father would not speak to him because of the court battle over his security arrangements, and that he did not know “how much longer my father has”.
A spokesperson for The Sun said: “Prince Harry confirms the exchange of gifts, including a family photograph.
“The office of the Duke of Sussex 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. We have today updated the online article to include his new statement.”
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