King and Prince Harry's aides hold ‘secret peace summit'
The meeting at a private members' club was an extraordinary development in relations between the two households, which in recent years have had little interaction.
Meredith Maines, the duke's new chief communications officer based in California, was joined at the meeting by Liam Maguire, who runs the Sussexes' UK-based PR operation, and Tobyn Andreae, the King's communications secretary.
A source told The Mail on Sunday: 'There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years.
'There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.'
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The meeting came weeks after the duke insisted in a lengthy BBC interview that he wanted to reconcile with his family.
But he admitted that his father would not speak to him and that he did not know how much longer the King had to live.
'There's no point in continuing to fight any more,' he said. 'Life is precious.'
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7NEWS
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Prince Harry, Meghan Markle ‘frustrated' after secret peace meeting with King Charles aide is leaked
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are believed to be 'frustrated' after the details of a secret meeting with senior aides for Charles and Prince Harry were leaked. Last Wednesday, in the first steps to 'rapprochement', the King's communications secretary Tobyn Andrae was spotted meeting with Harry and Markle's media advisors, Meredith Maines and Liam Maguire. The trio met at the Royal Over-Seas League near Clarence House, a private club where the King is patron. It is not known which side first extended the invitation to meet. Both Harry and the King are believed to be open to resolving their rift, which began in 2020 when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from senior royal duties and fled to the United States. The publication of Prince Harry's controversial memoir Spare and the couple's infamous Oprah interview further drove a wedge between the father and son. However, according to a source, Harry and Meghan weren't thrilled to find out the details of the unexpected rendezvous and a potential reconciliation were splashed across newspapers. The meeting, which was organised in a bid to start afresh, could now all be unravelled if there is an inkling of distrust from either side, The Telegraph reports. Sources close to Harry insisted that the Sussexes were not behind the leak. 'There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years,' a source told The Daily Mail. 'There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.' The source said the summit was just a 'first step towards reconciliation between Harry and his father, but at least it is a step in the right direction. 'Everyone just wants to move on and move forward now. It was finally the right time for the two sides to talk.' Ms Maines was the mastermind behind the launch of Meghan Markle's Netflix show With Love, Meghan and her lifestyle brand As Ever. She also organised Harry's bombshell BBC interview in May where the Prince expressed his desire to reconcile hours after losing a court fight over security arrangements. 'I would love reconciliation with my family,' Harry said. 'Life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has. 'He won't speak to me because of this security stuff but it would be nice to reconcile.'
Perth Now
2 hours ago
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Harry ‘frustrated' after secret Charles peace talks leaked
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are believed to be 'frustrated' after the details of a secret meeting with senior aides for Charles and Prince Harry were leaked. Last Wednesday, in the first steps to 'rapprochement', the King's communications secretary Tobyn Andrae was spotted meeting with Harry and Markle's media advisors, Meredith Maines and Liam Maguire. The trio met at the Royal Over-Seas League near Clarence House, a private club where the King is patron. It is not known which side first extended the invitation to meet. Both Harry and the King are believed to be open to resolving their rift, which began in 2020 when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down from senior royal duties and fled to the United States. The publication of Prince Harry's controversial memoir Spare and the couple's infamous Oprah interview further drove a wedge between the father and son. However, according to a source, Harry and Meghan weren't thrilled to find out the details of the unexpected rendezvous and a potential reconciliation were splashed across newspapers. The meeting, which was organised in a bid to start afresh, could now all be unravelled if there is an inkling of distrust from either side, The Telegraph reports. Sources close to Harry insisted that the Sussexes were not behind the leak. 'There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years,' a source told The Daily Mail. 'There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.' The source said the summit was just a 'first step towards reconciliation between Harry and his father, but at least it is a step in the right direction. 'Everyone just wants to move on and move forward now. It was finally the right time for the two sides to talk.' Ms Maines was the mastermind behind the launch of Meghan Markle's Netflix show With Love, Meghan and her lifestyle brand As Ever. She also organised Harry's bombshell BBC interview in May where the Prince expressed his desire to reconcile hours after losing a court fight over security arrangements. 'I would love reconciliation with my family,' Harry said. 'Life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has. 'He won't speak to me because of this security stuff but it would be nice to reconcile.' Buckingham Palace is yet to comment on the meeting.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Royal aides for King Charles, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet at private London club
In the clearest sign yet of a possible reconciliation between Prince Harry and the royal family, the estranged parties' had their aides meet for a 'significant' peace summit in London. The Mail on Sunday photographed the all-important meeting at private members club Royal Over-Seas Lounge, of which King Charles III is a patron, on Wednesday. The pictures showed Charles' communications secretary Tobyn Andreae sitting at a table on the garden terrace with Meredith Maines, the chief of communications for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. Also present was Liam Maguire, who runs the public relations team for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the UK. 'There's a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years,' a source told the Mail on Sunday. 'There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.' It's unclear who arranged the supposed peace talks, though Prince Harry, 40, has recently signalled his desire to reconcile with his family following Charles' cancer diagnosis being announced last February. The pair had been feuding since Harry left the UK for a new life in America with Meghan and their son, Archie, in early 2020. They later welcomed daughter Lilibet in 2021. A source told the outlet the secret meeting was a 'significant' step in repairing the damage. 'The King has consistently shown he loves both his sons and, as he has done in the past, is prepared to meet Harry when their diaries allow,' the source said. 'It's not unusual for aides from different households to meet, especially when there is a new influx of staff starting, but this is a significant moment. 'If there is a period of calm and reflection on the part of the duke, then there be a way forward for him to begin along the road of repairing his relationship with his father.' However, the source added Harry's relationship with his older brother, Prince William, was a 'different matter entirely.' '[It's] one which he [Harry] will find much harder to repair,' they said. Following mounting reports of fractures within the royal fold, tensions first flared publicly when Harry and Meghan, 43, quit as senior royals and moved to the US. They then sat down for an interview with Oprah Winfrey in which, most notably, Meghan accused an unidentified member of the royal family of casual racism regarding her then unborn son. The pair also signed a string of multimillion-dollar deals which saw them produce bombshell tell-all content, including for their Netflix documentary and Harry's memoir, Spare. But the tides appear to have turned for Harry in recent months. After losing his legal challenge over his stripped taxpayer-funded security in the UK in May, Harry sat down with the BBC where he declared his hopes for reconciliation. 'I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,' he said. Harry added the King 'won't speak to me because of this security stuff', but that he wanted to let it go because he didn't 'know how much longer my father has.'
