The Duke of Sussex has returned to the UK, making an emergency dash from the US to see the king after Charles’s cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew in on Tuesday afternoon ready to be reunited with his father, despite the pair’s troubled relationship.
The duke cleared his diary and made the journey alone, with the Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, remaining at home in California.
Royal watchers have expressed hope that Harry and his father will be reconciled after the king’s shock diagnosis, and there have been suggestions the duke could also attempt to heal his long-running rift with his brother, the Prince of Wales.
The king, who is said to be resting at Clarence House, began treatment for an undisclosed cancer on Monday after the disease was discovered while he was being treated for an enlarged prostate.
The prime minister, Rishi Sunak, revealed more of the monarch’s condition, saying he was thankful that the king’s cancer has been “caught early” as he wished him a full recovery.
King Charles, 75, who has postponed all his public duties, has already begun his medical care as an outpatient under the supervision of his specialist team of doctors.
His niece Princess Beatrice, who has a home in St James’s Palace next to Clarence House, was seen leaving the grounds on Tuesday morning, driving away from the back entrance.
Meanwhile, the Princess Royal held the fort on the royal engagements front, carrying out an investiture on behalf of the king at Windsor Castle.
Sunak said he was left “shocked and sad” when he was told about the king’s diagnosis. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “All our thoughts are with him and his family. Thankfully, this has been caught early.”
He said everyone would be hoping that the king “gets the treatment that he needs and makes a full recovery”. “That’s what we’re all hoping and praying for, and I’m of course in regular contact with him and will continue to communicate with him as normal,” he said.
Asked what it meant for the day-to-day running of the country, Sunak said: “We’ll crack on with everything.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed that the king, who acceded to the throne 17 months ago, did not have prostate cancer, saying only that it was a “form of cancer”.
The monarch was diagnosed after a “separate issue of concern was noted” and investigated while he was being treated for his benign prostate condition.
Harry’s black Range Rover was pictured arriving at a private terminal at Los Angeles international airport before he boarded a flight that was due to land at about midday UK time.
He last appeared alongside the Windsors at the king’s coronation and hurried home immediately afterwards to mark his son Archie’s fourth birthday.
