In a sad repeat of three years ago, Prince Harry returns to his home country on Monday at a time when Buckingham Palace is preparing a funeral for a member of the family.
Of course, on this day in 2022, the death of Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, was global news and stopped most people in their tracks.
Despite the passing of many months, Harry will find himself back in the UK this week, having seen King Charles just once since his cancer diagnosis and with reconciliation between father and son seemingly some way off.
Yes, senior members of both the King and Harry’s staff did meet recently for a summer drink, leading to many hyperbolic headlines that it was a ‘peace summit’ (I prefer to call it a coffee morning between some press advisers).
But only a handful of people know whether or not the two will see each other in the days ahead.
Accession Day, the date which simultaneously marks of the end of one reign and the start of another, is now on 8 September.
King Charles will spend the day on the Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire, the place where his mother spent her final days – just as she always spent her Accession Day, 6 February, at Sandringham where her father, George VI, died in 1952.
Prayers were said on Sunday at Crathie Kirk, the small church opposite the gates to Balmoral Castle, ahead of Accession Day and for the close family of the Duchess of Kent, whose funeral will take place on 16 September.
This week, Prince Harry returns, as he does every year, to attend the award ceremony for the charity WellChild, of which he is patron.
It supports seriously ill children who have terminal or life-limiting conditions, and Harry meets the award winners and makes a speech during the ceremony.
WellChild was one of the reasons for Harry and Meghan being in the UK in the week Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, although he was not able to make it in time to Balmoral Castle before she passed away.
In the years since, there has been a memoir, some Netflix shows and a few interviews. They have all resulted in a worsening of relations between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Harry’s family in the UK.
But there is a slim chance that the King and Harry will see each other.
The prince has already expressed his desire to reconcile. And providing the King can trust that private conversations will remain private (rather than find their way into the public domain via books or media interviews), he does want to improve relations with his second son.
Are there any opportunities for it to happen? The King is in Scotland at the start of the week while Harry is in London on Monday and Nottingham on Tuesday.
But given the speed with which the royals can travel (planes and helicopters), there is no reason why the pair will not be able to meet on Wednesday or Thursday.
Even if a day and time have yet to be locked in, it is always possible to rejig diaries, providing the will is there.
But for that to happen, both sides have to be willing. So, a face-to-face meeting might just be possible, even though trust is in limited supply on both sides.
Harry still believes that the King’s senior courtiers played some part in the removal of his own high-level security when he is in the UK.
He considers the ‘bespoke’ security plan, which the Home Office currently provides for him, is not enough to counter the threats that have been against him.
Harry lost the legal action he took against the government over the issue.
Taking his father’s government to court (it is after all His Majesty’s Government) is one of the reasons why the King would not see his son, as palace courtiers worried their conversations could prejudice the legal action.
Three years after the death of Queen Elizabeth, family relations remain strained. There is zero prospect of Harry seeing his brother, Prince William, as the siblings no longer talk.
But things are different for the King who is still having cancer treatment, and will want to patch things up if there is the slightest chance of it happening.
We don’t know if Harry will stay in the UK for the funeral of the Duchess of Kent next week, which the palace is now arranging after the announcement her death, at age 92, on Friday.
It will surely be much easier for the family, especially William, if Harry does not stay on, given his attendance would take the focus away from the Duchess of Kent.
But for now, the whole family will be thinking back to this day three years ago, when the reign of Britain’s longest serving Monarch came to an end.
The reign of King Charles, which is still in its infancy, would surely benefit from a more harmonious relationship with his son.
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