Prince Harry and King Charles' 'Peace Talks' End in Tension Once Again Over Leaked Reports
King Charles and Prince Harry’s relationship has remained fractured since the latter stepped down as a senior royal in 2020. Tensions only deepened after the Duke made explosive allegations about the royal family in a string of high-profile interviews. However, a beacon of hope emerged recently when reports surfaced of their private secretaries, Meredith Maines and Tobyn Andreae, meeting for a ‘secret summit’ to explore 'peace talks.' But the move swiftly backfired as leaked photos of the meetup have reignited a fresh round of the blame game between the two parties.
According to The Telegraph, Meghan Markle and Harry are said to be frustrated after photos of the alleged peace summit were leaked to the Daily Mail. They strongly deny that they were behind it, which included topics of conversation and timing details. While Buckingham Palace declined to comment, sources close to the Duke said that they were 'not responsible' and acknowledged that the leak was 'not an ideal way' to start peace talks. In a further breach, Maines and Andreae took a table on an external terrace visible from Green Park in public, where most of the photos were taken.
As reported by The Daily Beast, a source close to Harry also strongly denied that his side had leaked any information about the meeting. They stopped short of directly blaming Charles' office for the leak. It’s worth noting that Harry has previously voiced his frustration over his father's aides allegedly planting stories about him in the media, so the leaked photos have likely left him angered. Royal author Phil Dampier disagreed, claiming that details of the meeting were indeed leaked by the Duke in an attempt to "portray himself as the one who is trying to patch things up."
The photos and details of the 'secret summit' were first leaked to the Daily Mail with a source saying, "There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years... There were things both sides wanted to talk about." Maines acts as Harry's chief communication officer while Andreae is the King's communications secretary. The pair were also joined by Liam Maguire, who runs the Sussexes' PR team in the UK. After the trio were spotted having drinks, they got up and took their discussions inside. The insider claimed that the summit was the 'first step towards reconciliation' between Harry and Charles. They added, "Everyone just wants to move on and move forward now. It was finally the right time for the two sides to talk."
Leaked photos of the trio were permitted to be published in the UK as British privacy laws state that individuals cannot claim to have had a reasonable expectation of privacy if they can be seen from a public space. The meeting took place at the Royal Over-Seas League, where the King is a patron, and is a members-only club near Clarence House favored by Charles’ courtiers for discreet talks.