Caption: Laughing King Charles gives awkward response to request to ‘bring back’ Prince Harry
King Charles III laughed off an awkward request to ‘bring back’ Prince Harry while carrying out royal engagements in east London.
The monarch greeted students at the University of East London (UEL) at its Stratford campus for its 125-year anniversary earlier today.
Greeted by dignitaries at around midday, Charles was accompanied by the university’s vice-chancellor and president, Professor Amanda Broderick.
As he shook the hands of students who had waited hours in the cold to see him, one asked him: ‘Can you bring back Harry?’
‘Who?’ Charles asked, quite not catching the question before bursting into laughter when he realised he misheard.
The relationship between the Duke of Sussex and his father has been strained for years since he broke away from royal life in 2020.
Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from the monarchy as they felt increasingly isolated within the House of Windsor and battered by the British press since their 2018 wedding.
King Charles and his son Prince Harry have had a rocky relationship in recent years (Picture: AFP)
He opened up in the past about how, after moving to the US, Charles stopped taking his calls.
Speaking about his father, Harry told Oprah Winfrey in 2021: ‘Of course, I will always love him.
‘But there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that.’
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, some royal commentators wondered whether Harry could return to the fold.
In his first speech as monarch, Charles spoke of his ‘love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas’.
But in his warts-and-all memoir, Spare, Harry opened up about the royal rift that includes his father, stepmother Camilla, and his brother, Prince William.
The King visited the east London university today (Picture: AP)
Buckingham Palace remained silent amid the claims made in the book or the Sussexes’ six-part Netflix docuseries, which aired in December.
Spare’s scorched-earth details raised questions over whether Charles and William would be able to strike a deal with Harry to attend the King’s coronation.
Harry said his family have shown little interest in reconciliation, though sources have suggested peace talks could happen before the May 6 date.
In an interview with the Daily Telegraph last month, Harry acknowledged that his family would find it hard to forgive his rupture from the family.
He said: ‘Some of the stuff I’ve put in there, well, they will never forgive me anyway.
‘But the way I see it is, I’m willing to forgive you for everything you’ve done.’
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‘Who?’
