Royal Family: Meghan Markle ‘wanted star role’ – but Harry is ‘twiddling his thumbs'

King Charles met with Prince Harry for the first time since February 2024 on Wednesday, a meeting that took place during the former working royal's visit from California. The 40-year-old travelled to his home country earlier this week to conduct a host of charitable engagements in the UK.

Harry did not make time to see his brother or sister-in-law during his UK trip, but did travel to Clarence House for a 54-minute meeting with the King. In a poll conducted by the Express, which ran between 5.50pm on September 10 and 3.10pm on September 11, royal fans were asked it was the right decision for King Charles to meet his youngest son.

In a blistering result, 5,990 [68 percent] of the 8,820 people who voted shared that it was the wrong decision.

Prince William and Princess Kate are working on a genius tactic at their upcoming new home to ensure the family have as much privacy as possible. The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 43, will be relocating to Forest Lodge in Windsor by the end of the year with their three children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, seven.

At the moment, the family are still based at their nearby home Adelaide Cottage, where they have lived since 2022. This is because work is currently underway both inside and outside the property. Among the work currently being done at the eight-bed mansion is part of the couple’s genius tactic to ensure their children have as much privacy as possible.

There are few greater tests that exist than the one Princess Kate has been put through, but throughout it all, she has made it clear that more than ever, her family will come first. That was unmistakably clear as she stepped out on Thursday wearing a necklace with her children’s G, C and L initials taking pride of place.

This week has been a busy one for the Princess as she has made several joy-filled appearances – and with her key role in President Donald Trump’s State Visit next week confirmed, the exciting appearances will keep rolling in.

But what is important to remember is that the Princess’ gradual return to public life is one that will be measured and dependant on so many factors, chief among them the needs and feelings of her children.

READ THE ANALYSIS HERE

Captain Lizzie Godwin, an army officer who rode in the late Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and King Charles' Coronation, has tragically died at the age of 28. Godwin was killed in a car crash on September 5, according to reports, when a car collided with hers as she was driving home in Surrey.

The British Army's Household Cavalry confirmed the news in a tribute post on Instagram: "It is with great sadness that we must announce the tragic passing of Captain Lizzie Godwin LG last week. Lizzie commissioned into The Life Guards in 2020, winning the Sword of Honour at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as the best of her intake. She served with distinction on armour at the Household Cavalry Regiment and on state ceremonial duties at the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, including both Her Late Majesty The Queen’s funeral and His Majesty The King’s Coronation."

Princess Kate impressed fans with a nifty hair hack during her visit to a leading textile manufacturer in Kent. The Princess of Wales was given a tour of family-run textiles business Marina Mill in Cuxton this afternoon and put on an apron to help understand and listen to the creativity and craftsmanship of British textile manufacturers.

While the future queen was listening to instructions from the family business that specialises in hand designing and screen-printing furnishing fabrics, cameras caught Kate twisting her hair and effortlessly, creating a neat bun at the back of her head without any clips or pins. Fans on X were amazed at the quiet hair hack shown by the Princess of Wales. One wrote: "Just when I thought my hair envy couldn’t reach further she goes pulls this stunt, like it’s no more than brushing your hair off of your shoulders!!"

Princess Beatrice has teamed up with top A-listers today to raise money for charity. The princess, 37, joined celebrities in London to take part in the BGC Group Charity Day on behalf of CFRF.

The charity day has taken place on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York since 2004. The day aims to raise millions of pounds for good causes in memory of BGC's colleagues lost on 9/11.

Graham Norton has candidly admitted he would have Prince Harry on his famous sofa as a guest on his TV chat show. Gracing the red carpet at the National Television Awards 2025 on Wednesday evening, Graham spoke to reporters about the celebrities he had never had on his show.

Speaking to reality TV stars Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson, the TV presenter and chat show host, wearing a dark jacket embellished with sequin patterns, explained: "Brad Pitt, we've never had. He's on my list." Sam followed up by asking, "Any royals?", with Graham adding: "We'd love a little royal." Pushing for an answer, Pete quickly asked: "If you could pick a royal, which one would you pick?" Graham replied: "I'd quite like a rebel. So I would quite like a Harry."

Piers Morgan has slammed Prince Harry today on ITV’s This Morning for being the “most intrusive person into royal privacy ever”. The broadcaster, 60, joined the show as a guest to talk about the day’s news topics, with one being the declining popularity of the monarchy.

In the discussion, Piers - who has been vocal about his dislike of Harry and his wife Meghan Markle over recent years - said that Harry, 40, is one of the reasons for the monarchy’s popularity declining. He also said that Harry and Meghan have contributed to “bringing the Royal Family to its knees”.

EXCLUSIVE: Prince William and Princess Kate will be "extremely suspicious" of Prince Harry, claims royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams.

The 40-year-old travelled to the UK earlier this week to conduct a host of charitable engagements.

During his four-day visit, which is set to come to an end today as he is due to travel back to California to reunite with his wife and two children, Harry made time on Wednesday to visit King Charles at Clarence House.

King Charles reunited with his youngest son, Prince Harry, yesterday, marking their first face-to-face meeting since February 2024.

The monarch, 76, welcomed Harry, 40, to his Clarence House home for a private tea, with no further details given.

However, Harry - who landed in the UK on Monday for four days of engagements on home soil - was not the only royal to meet with the King yesterday.

Shortly before Harry arrived at his father’s home, the Duchess of Edinburgh was pictured leaving.

After his final appearance in the UK after his four-day visit, a spokesperson for Prince Harry provided an insight into how the trip has gone.

Suggesting it has been a success, he said: “He’s obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him.”

The Duke's final outing in his home country came on Thursday morning when he carried out an engagement linked to the Diana Award in the capital.

Prince Harry made one final appearance in the UK on Thursday morning as he attended an event linked to the Diana Award in London.

This last engagement comes after a busy four days in the UK before the Duke flies home to California to be reunited with Meghan and their young children.

Harry's last outing saw him take part in a panel discussion on how social action positively impacts mental health with four young people who are involved with The Diana Award.

Princess Kate is out in Suffolk today to attend the first of two solo visits, both of which have a very special personal connection.

The Princess of Wales is first touring Sudbury Silk Mills in Sudbury, Suffolk, before travelling on to Kent to visit Marina Mill in Cuxton.

Kensington Palace said the Princess’s visit would “celebrate the unique skill, creativity and craftsmanship of British textile manufacturers."

King Charles has had a meeting with his estranged son, Prince Harry, in London, sparking hopes for a possible reconciliation between the two sides in the future.

The pair shared a private tea at Clarence House, the King's private residence in London, for about 55 minutes.

While neither Buckingham Palace nor Prince Harry's reps have commented on the meeting other than confirming it took place, there may be a number of reasons why father and son were finally reunited after 19 months, and the Express takes a look at them.

Princess Kate will reportedly have a huge role to play during President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump's visit to the UK next week.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to welcome the American couple into the UK, before being joined by King Charles and Queen Camilla.

The two royal couples and the Presidential couple will attend an open-air greeting and a carriage procession through to the estate of Windsor Castle.

Princess Anne has been "quietly amassing" a vast fortune despite her "frugal" persona, a new documentary has claimed.

In the new show exploring royal wealth, Channel 5 filmmakers compiled a list of the 10 richest members of the Firm, spanning Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, to King Charles.

It's worth noting that some positions were occupied by more than one person (eg Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice in slot eight) in The Royal Rich List 2025.

Support for the monarchy by the British public has fallen to a historic low in what could be described as a major blow for King Charles, according to the latest figures.

Just over half (51%) of people in Britain said they believe it is important to keep the monarchy, in what is a significantly lower proportion than in 1983, when the question was first asked for the British Social Attitudes (BSA), when more than four in five (86%) were in favour.

This is the lowest level of support recorded since the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) began tracking public opinion some 40 years ago.

However, more than half of those polled were in favour of keeping the royals over an elected head of state.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have donated £369,000 ($500,000) through their Archewell Foundation to projects supporting injured children from Gaza and Ukraine.

The three grants from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's charitable foundation will help the World Health Organisation with medical evacuations and fund work developing prosthetics for youngsters seriously hurt in the conflicts.

The announcement coincided with Harry's visit to the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London on Wednesday.

Prince Harry has finally met with King Charles for the first time in 19 months and royal fans had one thing to say.

The Duke of Sussex shared a private tea with his father, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, at Clarence House on Wednesday evening, during day three of Harry's visit to the UK.

Royal fans were delighted about the royal reunion and took to social media to express their views.

An online book of condolence for Katharine, the Duchess of Kent, has opened on the monarchy’s official website for the public to sign.

Katharine, who died at the age of 92 on September 4, was married to the late Queen Elizabeth II's cousin, the Duke of Kent.

Members of the public wishing to pay their respects to the Duchess's family can do so on the Royal Family's official website, through the virtual condolence book.

ANALYSIS: Wednesday's meeting is a seminal moment in the bitter royal feud that has engulfed the house of Windsor for over five years.

Though only brief, a face-to-face meeting marks a significant moment for father and son, who haven’t been on speaking terms for some time.

They last met over 18months ago, when Harry rushed back to the UK following the King’s shock cancer diagnosis.

Good morning, I'm Sophia Papamavroudi and I'll be bringing you all the latest royal updates into this afternoon.

Feel free to get in touch with me as I work at sophia.papamavroudi@reachplc.com

Former royal butler Paul Burrell has offered a frank assessment of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, claiming Meghan Markle "wanted to be a star" in the Royal Family but refused to play "supporting actress" to future Queen Catherine.

And he also suggested Harry had little to do in Montecito and lacked a clear role.

Mr Burrell, talking to MailOnline, said Meghan craved "celebrity status" without conforming to Windsor's "rules and protocols," struggling as an American to grasp the culture. He further suggested the "downfall" of her marriage to Prince Harry is "inevitable" due to a cultural "fault line" that "will crack one day".

Harry, who met King Charles for the first time in a year on Wednesday, had once busy with royal duties and polo, Mr Burrell.

However, he said the 40-year-old now sits in Montecito "twiddling his thumbs," wondering about his role as this "mentality will wear thin."