King Charles kept Prince William, Kate Middleton in the dark about secret Harry and Meghan reunion: report - Fox News

Dan Wakeford, founder of Celebrity Intelligence, discusses Prince Harry's expected UK return, his relationship with King Charles, and why a meeting with Prince William remains unlikely.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were kept in the dark about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s top-secret reunion with King Charles.

Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair royal correspondent, reported that, according to sources, "not even the Prince and Princess of Wales were made aware that the meeting was taking place."

Nicholl also reported that the king, "who has sworn his youngest son and daughter-in-law to secrecy," insisted that nothing about their July 10 meeting be leaked. Only palace aides were permitted to confirm the reunion took place after the Sussexes left Highgrove House, Charles' country home, without being seen.

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Vanity Fair royal correspondent Katie Nicholl reported that Prince William and Kate Middleton were kept in the dark about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's secret meeting with King Charles. (Chris Jackson/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.

"I don't see this as Prince William losing influence," Kinsey Schofield, host of "Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered," told Fox News Digital. "I see it as King Charles recognizing that Prince Harry is his relationship to manage."

Britain's King Charles III (center) hosts a reception for recipients of the King's Award for Enterprise 2026 at St. James' Palace in London on July 8, 2026. (Aaron Chown/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

" Prince William's priority is protecting the future of the monarchy," said Schofield. "Charles can afford to make emotional decisions that William, as the next king, probably cannot."

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The king hosted Harry and Meghan for the first time in years as they tried to repair a rift that has persisted since the Sussexes stepped back as senior working royals and moved to California.

The couple and their two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, met with the monarch and Queen Camilla, Buckingham Palace confirmed. A source close to Charles told Nicholl that the hour-long meeting was "completely cloak-and-dagger, orchestrated by the king."

Queen Camilla shelters under a parasol during a visit to Penguin Beach at London Zoo in London, ahead of meeting Prince Harry and his family on July 10, 2026. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

"The king wanted to see Harry and the children," said the source. "A time was agreed for the Sussexes to come to Highgrove... and it was uncharacteristically last-minute for the king. Everyone was sworn to secrecy so that the meeting could remain private."

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex departs from The Invictus Games Foundation Conversation: From Policy to Practice at Chatham House on July 7, 2026, in London. Multiple royal experts told Fox News Digital that there's no doubt King Charles' younger son misses his life in the U.K. (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

The insider said Camilla, who was staying at her Ray Mill House estate, drove to Highgrove for the meeting in "quite a hurry."

Highgrove House, the king's private residence, in Doughton, Gloucestershire. (Neil Bennett/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

"Charles wanted Camilla to be there for moral support because she had been a pillar of strength for him throughout all the drama with Harry, and she dropped everything," the source told Nicholl. "She told no one, not even her family. She just got in the car and headed over. They were all on a mission to keep the meeting as watertight as possible."

From left: Prince William, Prince of Wales, King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the Thistle Service at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland on July 1, 2026. (Aaron Chown/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

"Personally, I feel Camilla played a hand in this, too," royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. "She would have encouraged Charles to support a meeting, provided that none of the issues discussed would be made public."

The Prince and Princess of Wales put on a united front in Windsor on July 10, 2026, while the Sussexes privately met with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)