King Charles ensured Queen Camilla was present as ‘witness’ during Harry and Meghan Markle reunion

LONDON, ENGLAND: King Charles made sure to have a “witness” present during his Friday, July 10 reunion with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their children at Highgrove House, according to royal writer Robert Jobson.

Queen Camilla remained by the King's side throughout the meeting, which marked the first time he had seen the Sussexes and their children together in four years. The gathering came after a difficult week for Prince Harry in the UK, following his legal defeat in a years-long privacy case against Associated Newspapers.

Queen Camilla's role in Prince Harry and Meghan's reunion

According to Jobson, Queen Camilla attended the reunion "for a reason," telling Page Six, “The queen was there for a reason... To make sure that everything was witnessed.” The decision followed years in which Prince Harry and Meghan publicly shared allegations and personal accounts about the royal family through their 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview.

The 2022 Netflix docuseries 'Harry & Meghan' and his 2023 memoir 'Spare.' Jobson said only those inside the room know exactly what happened during the meeting: "The only people who know were inside the room."

The arrangement echoed a practice adopted by the late Queen Elizabeth II, who reportedly refused to take Harry’s phone calls without another person present and did not allow the Sussexes to bring a photographer to one of their final meetings with her. 

The couple had wanted a photographer to capture Queen Elizabeth meeting her namesake, Princess Lilibet, for the first time. Despite past tensions, Jobson said Charles, who is living with cancer, agreed to the meeting because he wanted to have “no regrets.”

“He’s living with cancer; he’s had a lot of meetings lately with people,” Jobson said. The reunion followed Harry’s week-long visit to Britain, during which he lost his privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited and was refused a room at Buckingham Palace.

After Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the lawsuit following a 46-day trial, Harry and fellow claimant Baroness Doreen Lawrence issued a joint statement criticizing the ruling. “We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither,” they said.

Prince Harry's relationship with Queen Camilla and Prince William remains strained

Despite reported security concerns, Harry was able to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, from their holiday home in Portugal for the reunion with Charles and Camilla.

He has previously written about his feelings toward his stepmother in 'Spare,' recalling that he and Prince William had pleaded with their father not to marry Camilla. He also alleged that she “sacrificed me on her personal PR altar” by trading information with tabloid journalists to improve her public image before becoming Queen Consort.

While the reunion may have marked progress between Harry and his father, it did not extend to his relationship with Prince William.

“It’s so broken,” an insider told PEOPLE of the brothers’ relationship while another source added, “I thought it would have perhaps eased a little bit by now, to be honest. But there has been no movement, especially on William’s side. There is no contact.”

Although William and Harry were just 12 miles apart in London on July 7, the first day of his visit, there was never any expectation they would meet. William instead attended his annual charity polo match in Windsor with Kate Middleton while Harry’s visit included the family reunion with King Charles.