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King Charles may extend an olive branch and invite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Balmoral Castle this summer in a bid to be reunited with his grandchildren, sources tell Page Six.
The cancer-stricken monarch has seen Prince Archie, who turns 5 next month, on just a few occasions — and only seen Princess Lilibet in person once.
However, there is buzz that Charles, 75, will invite the Sussexes to the royal family’s beloved retreat.
King Charles may invite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Balmoral this summer in a bid to be reunited with his grandchildren, sources say.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
Balmoral has long been a place of solace for the royal family — and sources think it could be a place for Harry and his family to get back on better terms.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
The monarch likes to retire to the Scottish countryside every year and is joined by members of the family, from the Prince and Princess of Wales — who is fighting her own cancer battle — to his own siblings.
A well-placed society source told us, “I can see Charles desperately wanting to see the children, and extending this olive branch to Meghan and Harry. He may decide that life is just too short.
“Balmoral is truly the perfect, restful place for a reunion. If he does issue an invite, then Harry and Meghan should surely agree to the visit.”
Queen Elizabeth II — seen with her son Charles in Scotland in October 2021 — loved the Highlands. Her daughter, Princess Anne, said the queen was glad she died at Balmoral.POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Britain’s royal family retreat to Balmoral Castle every summer.Peter Jolly/Shutterstock
Charles only met Lilibet — nicknamed Lili — for the first time during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations for the late Queen Elizabeth in June 2022.
It was confirmed that Charles spent time with the children during a vist that a royal source later described as “fantastic” and “very emotional.”
Prince Harry jetted more than 5,000 miles for a 40-minute meeting with his father after the king’s cancer diagnosis in February.Shutterstock
“It was a fantastic visit and, of course, the king was delighted to see his grandson and meet his granddaughter for the first time,” the source added.
Harry reaches the milestone age of 40 in September and, as we have reported, is keen to reconcile with his father despite the past few years of a much-publicized family fallout.
The Duke of Sussex flew more than 5,000 miles from his home in California to see Charles when the king was diagnosed with cancer in February — but was only given a 40-minute audience with his father.
Charles has only met Prince Archie a handful of times — and Princess Lilibet just once.Alexi Lubomirski / Duke and Duch
There was no comment from Buckingham Palace on an invitation, while Sussex sources said they were not aware of any approach for the summer months just yet.
Markle, 42, meanwhile, has rarely been back to the UK since the Sussexes quit the UK and their roles as senior royals in March 2020.
Although the couple returned for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, they were banned from joining the family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace as they are no longer working royals.
Markle joined her husband at the late queen’s funeral in September 2022 but has not stepped foot in his homeland since then, including for Charles’ coronation.
Balmoral was Queen Elizabeth’s favorite spot and she actually died there.
In his bombshell memoir, “Spare,” Harry wrote of his love of Balmoral, and recalled that his grandmother’s culinary speciality was salad dressing, while his grandfather, Prince Phillip, would tend the grill “amid a thick cloud of smoke, tears streaming from his eyes. He wore a flat cap, which he took off now and then to mop his brow or smack a fly.
“As the fillets of venison sizzled he turned them with a huge pair of tongs, then put on a loop of Cumberland sausages. Normally I’d beg him to make a pot of his specialty, spaghetti Bolognese.”
