The 4 key reasons why King Charles had to meet Prince Harry

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 Duke of Sussex was pictured arriving at Clarence House on Wednesday afternoon shortly after the monarch left Balmoral in Scotland.

The pair shared a private tea at Clarence House, the King's private residence in London, for about 55 minutes. Asked how his father was by a reporter shortly after arriving at the Invictus reception, Harry replied: "Yes, he's great, thank you."

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.

Prince Harry's recent gestures that show he wants to rebuild relations

The Duke of Sussex appears to have changed his approach to the royals, following years of claims against them. Back in May, after losing a High Court appeal regarding his security, the prince told the BBC that he longs for reconciliation with his family.

He said that "there have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family," adding that he had now "forgiven" them. He said: "I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious."

Earlier in the summer, Harry's team were pictrued having a meeting in London with those of the King, sparking further hopes for a path to reconciliation.

At the time, it was also reported that the Duke was willing to share his diary with the royals in order for their schedule not to clash, in what was seen as a major olive branch by various royal commentators.

Meanwhile, Harry's latest gestures in the UK point to the Duke still having the UK close to his heart despite living miles away in Montecito, California.

During his recent four-day visit to the UK, Harry announced a £1.1million personal donation to BBC Children in Need to support young people affected by youth violence.

Britain will also play a key part for the Duke's next Invictus Games in 2027, as they will take place in Birmingham.

Prince Harry 'pining' for home as 'seriously homesick' Duke reaches out to UK pals

Sources close to Prince Harry said that the Duke is "pining" for his home country and has begun reaching out to his UK friends more.

One pal close to the Duke told the Standard: "Spike (his nickname among his old school friends) is seriously homesick. He’s started reaching out to us more and more.

"It started with very long and earnest WhatsApps. We actually all made a decision when we started getting them not to take the p*** out of them. Something we couldn’t have imagined doing a few years before. Anyway, gradually, he seems to be sounding more normal."

The source added: "Whenever anyone goes to America they try to see him. It never seems to be with Meghan though. We think he is beginning to pine for home."

King Charles misses Prince Harry 'bitterly'

Royal sources recently stressed that it's not just the Duke who misses his estranged family dearly.

They said the King has "always adored" him and would want to see him more. The told the same outlet: "Harry seems to have forgotten this but his father always absolutely adored him. He always called him ‘my darling boy’ and was so affectionate.

"People always seem to think that Harry inherited all his charm from his mother, but lots of the things he is good at, being attentive and always remembering people’s names, is something that comes directly from the King."

King Charles wants to see more of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet

An angle discussed by many royal commentators over the years is that the King wishes to keep a close bond with all his grandchildren, and his distant relationship with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet is not ideal.

The monarch last saw Archie and Lilibet three years ago when the Sussex family visited the UK for the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which coincided with Lilibet's birthday on June 4 that year.

Sources have long claimed that the King is "a forgiving man, who very much loves his son." The King appears eager to build a better relationship with his grandchildren and begin resolving any differences with his estranged son.

Another source previously told Grazia magazine: "The King does not like conflict and he would love for this all to be resolved. But Harry has to earn the trust back. The ball is in his court in that respect.

"The King loves his son and he is very sad he has not spent any time with Archie and Lilibet, but Harry hasn't made reconciliation easy."