Prince William, Kate Middleton to dodge Prince Harry in London as royal rift drags on: experts

Prince Harry will be in London next week, but he won’t receive a warm welcome from his family.

The Duke of Sussex will return to the U.K. on Jan. 19 for the latest court date in his ongoing legal battle against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, will be in Scotland — hundreds of miles away — for a joint engagement, People magazine reported.

King Charles will also be in Scotland, with an engagement Monday at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the outlet reported.

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"Surprise, surprise," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. "In 2026, the rift between the two brothers is still simmering away. A battle royale continues."

Turner noted that the royal family — specifically William — likely knew Harry's trial date months ago. However, royal engagements are planned well in advance. Still, it’s believed the brothers aren’t on speaking terms and haven’t been since 2020.

Turner expressed greater hopes for Harry’s strained relationship with his father.

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"There will be no official meeting between Harry and King Charles," Turner said. "However, that doesn’t stop behind-the-scenes, high-level negotiations between Harry and the king’s officials."

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital that Harry remains at odds with William, the heir to the British throne.

"William and Catherine obviously won’t see Harry while he’s involved with a court case," he said. "William reportedly hasn’t spoken to his brother. After Harry’s interviews with the BBC and The Guardian last year — not to mention what happened previously — the royal family is unlikely to trust the Sussexes."

While Harry is in the courtroom, William and Kate will be visiting the National Curling Academy in Stirling to meet Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic curling teams ahead of the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, People reported.

According to the outlet, the Prince and Princess of Wales will also visit Radical Weavers, a hand-weaving studio where visitors learn about the heritage of Scottish tartan.

Fitzwilliams noted it will be hard for William and Kate to avoid coverage of Harry’s visit — and it likely won’t be the last.

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"Given the sensitivities involved, the length of the rift and its worldwide profile, speculation remains endless," he said.

"However, the likely plan is that Harry and Meghan will return in the summer for a special ‘year-to-go’ event marking the Invictus Games. They’ll probably also see King Charles. I see Harry’s victory in his security case as part of a master plan. [But] the outrage of royal supporters and fury of the press will undoubtedly follow."

People magazine previously reported that several high-profile figures, including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Jude Law's ex-wife Sadie Frost, are suing Associated Newspapers for alleged illegal information gathering. It has "vigorously" denied the allegations, the BBC reported.

Fox News Digital previously reached out to Archewell for comment.

Royal sources told The Telegraph that the king, 77, has "no wish to be linked to any court proceedings."

"Prince Harry is accustomed to a life built on conflict," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. "He has sued the Mail on Sunday and much more, to the embarrassment of his father. He still maintains that he has been stitched up by the establishment. It’s a no-brainer, and safe to say, that King Charles will not be seeing Prince Harry."

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In September, Harry reunited with his father for the first time in 18 months. The father of two had a private tea with the monarch at Clarence House, Fox News Digital learned. 

The Telegraph reported that the meeting lasted 50 minutes and was considered a major step toward reconciliation in the midst of an ongoing family rift. The outlet also noted that the relationship thawed at the time.

Harry has been estranged from his family since he and his wife stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California. They cited the unbearable intrusions of the British press and a lack of support from the palace as the reasons for their exit.

Since settling in the wealthy coastal city of Montecito, the couple aired their grievances in interviews and documentaries. Harry’s 2023 memoir, "Spare," which exposed embarrassing details about the House of Windsor, worsened his relationship with the royals. 

Sources close to Harry, 41, told People magazine that Charles wouldn’t respond to his phone calls or letters. Royal experts previously told Fox News Digital that William and Harry were not on speaking terms.

In October, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex denied reports that the prince’s meeting with his father left him feeling like an "official visitor." A statement sent to People magazine read: "The quotes attributed to him are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son."

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British royals expert Hilary Fordwich claimed to Fox News Digital at the time that the monarch was "saddened" after Harry appeared to accuse palace aides of sabotaging peace talks.

"Prince Harry’s counterproductive statement definitely caused disappointment for King Charles III, who was rather surprised and saddened," said Fordwich. "It overall makes future peace talks harder and reaffirms Prince William’s skepticism."

In May, Harry told the BBC he wanted to reconcile with his family.

"I would love reconciliation with my family," he said at the time. "There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. I don’t know how much longer my father has."

Harry admitted that "some members of my family will never forgive me" for writing his memoir. He went on to say, "It would be nice to have that reconciliation part now. If they don't want that, that's entirely up to them."

Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube's "Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered," told Fox News Digital that when it comes to initiating peace talks with the royals, the ball is in Harry’s court.

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"It would be wildly unrealistic for Harry to expect his father to travel to Montecito to see him," she explained. "Particularly, if reports are accurate, that RAVEC has reassessed Harry’s security and determined he would receive automatic protection upon entering the U.K. If that’s the case, then the responsibility to visit clearly lies with Harry and Meghan."

"If Harry fails to use this revised security status to immediately plan a visit with his children to see his father, it will raise questions about the sincerity of his security campaign and his BBC interview performance," she added.

The Times of London reported in December that Harry has not spoken to his father since their reunion in September and is not in contact with the Prince and Princess of Wales. A source in London called suggestions that Harry and his father are on speaking terms "laughable."

Harry has repeatedly said that he’s unable to bring his family to the U.K. without security because it isn’t safe.