A Sussex insider has shared a sad update about King Charles’ relationship with his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet amid Meghan Markle’s outright refusal to visit the United Kingdom.
Prince Archie, five, is understood to have met his grandfather a few times and Princess Lilibet, three, has only met the King on one occasion due to Meghan and Prince Harry’s estrangement from the monarchy.
The Sussexes “stepped back” from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California soon after Archie’s birth, while Lilibet was born in the United States and has never visited the United Kingdom.
On Friday, royal author Tom Quinn claimed that the King is privately encouraging his son to establish a second base in the UK to “circumvent” Meghan’s reluctance to visit London.
“King Charles has been putting pressure on Harry to do just this as he is angry that his only relationship with his grandchildren so far is via video calls, which Charles hates,” Mr Quinn told the Mirror newspaper.
“William and Kate’s children would spend the weekend at Highgrove and Harry’s children could then easily pop over from their house nearby.
“This would neatly get round the problem of Meghan – she just wouldn’t need to be there and the children could be whisked back to the States after a week or two.”
The update comes after reports the Sussexes have been discreetly house hunting in the English capital after losing their former UK base Frogmore Cottage a year ago.
However, the move is understood to be spearheaded by Harry as American-born Meghan is uninterested in returning to the UK without a public apology from the royal family.
The Duchess of Sussex reportedly wants an apology for perceived mistreatment by the monarchy, which included allegations the institution failed to support her mental health and that senior members of the royal family inquired about Archie’s skin colour.
Despite subsequently slamming the royal family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey and in the couple’s Netflix series, Meghan reportedly still feels she is owed an apology by the firm.
King Charles is believed to have corresponded with the Duchess of Sussex via letter after she aired the allegations about racial insensitivity in the monarchy, but she declined an invite to her father-in-law’s coronation last May.
She also declined an invite to accompany Harry to London last month for the Invictus Games tenth anniversary, but did briefly stop at Heathrow Airport days later while en route to Nigeria.