Overview

• On July 12, senior aides for King Charles and Prince Harry met at London’s Royal Over-Seas League for casual drinks without a formal agenda, reopening direct talks for the first time in years.
• Attending were Harry’s communications chief Meredith Maines, UK PR lead Liam Maguire, and the King’s communications secretary Tobyn Andreae.
• The summit’s details were leaked by the press, reigniting mistrust and frustration on both sides of the palace.
• Prince William and Kate Middleton did not send representatives to the meeting and are treating any rapprochement efforts with extreme caution.
• Both camps view Harry’s planned UK engagements in September as a crucial test of whether the renewed communication channel can lead to reconciliation during King Charles’s cancer treatment.