Friends of King Charles use late Queen’s famous ‘recollections may vary’ phrase as they raise eyebrows over claims monarch ‘refused to find space in his diary’ to see Prince Harry while in the UK

It was the phrase famously used by the late Queen when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle criticised the royals in their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview.

Now, the words ‘recollections may vary’ have returned three years later, with a friend of King Charles III using it to deny claims that he ‘refused to find space in his diary’ to see his son Harry during the estranged royal’s three-day visit to Britain last week.

A war of words has now broken out among sources close to Charles and Harry over what actually happened, after the Duke of Sussex flew into London for three days of events related to the Invictus Games including a service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

In the days before Harry’s visit, he was reported to have been keen to see his father – with sources close to the Duke insisting he had asked for the meeting in advance.

But those close to the King suggested the monarch did not know of this request or an invitation to the service, which Harry is said to have extended to senior royals.

King Charles speaks to guests at a garden party at Buckingham Palace in London on May 8

Prince Harry leaves St Paul’s Cathedral in London on May 8 after an Invictus Games service

They also claimed Harry was offered accommodation in a royal palace, making such a meeting easier – but the Duke ended up staying in a hotel for his three-day visit.

And upon Harry’s arrival, the Duke’s team announced that such a meeting would not be possible due to the King’s busy schedule as the monarch returned to public-facing events following his cancer diagnosis.

A spokesman for Harry said at the time: ‘In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the Duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it, unfortunately, will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.

‘The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.’

MailOnline understands that such a statement was unusual to make given that the Sussexes’ press team have a policy of generally not commenting on the couple’s relationship with the Royal Family. 

Harry’s service at St Paul’s ended up taking place at the same time that the King was hosting the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the season just two miles away on the afternoon of May 8 – but father and son were still not able to meet.

Harry and Charles were two miles apart – one at St Paul’s and the other at Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth II smiles next to Harry and Meghan on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 2018

And friends of Harry told The Sunday Times that the Duke asked to see his father well before the visit, adding that they ‘can’t imagine’ the request ‘fell through the gaps’.

They added: ‘Even if they didn’t get a request, which I don’t believe, could His Majesty not have made a request to see his son? It was widely known he was coming.’

Another source added: ‘It surprises me a lot. I was fully expecting them to meet. I know that’s what he wanted to happen and I don’t know when he’s next back.’

However, friends of the King gave a different version of events – with one quoting the famous phrase ‘recollections may vary’.

The source told the Sunday Times: ‘While it is true that the King is understandably wary about meeting with Harry, given the publicity circus that seems to surround all such visits, he did of course agree to see his son at the most vulnerable moment of his illness [in February], and at very short notice.

‘While he was hardly going to roll out the red carpet the moment this Invictus trip was announced, with doctors advising him to focus on his treatment and recovery, the idea that he refused to find space in his diary… well, let’s say recollections may vary once again.’

The famous statement issued by Buckingham Palace after the Oprah interview in March 2021

The ‘recollections may vary’ phrase comes from a public statement issued by Queen Elizabeth II in March 2021 following claims made by the Sussexes in their Oprah interview of racism and an alleged failure to help Meghan when she was struggling.

The Duchess of Sussex, who in 2018 became the first mixed race person to marry a senior royal for centuries, said during the interview that a royal expressed concerns with Harry about how dark Archie’s skin tone might be before he was born.

The Queen then issued a statement saying that the issues raised would be dealt with privately as a family, adding that ‘some recollections may vary’ and the Sussexes ‘will always be much-loved family members’.

Two years later, a book by royal correspondent Valentine Low claimed it was in fact Kate who pressed for the Queen to use the ‘recollections may vary’ phrase.

In his book ‘Coutiers’, Mr Low claimed a draft palace statement initially did not include the famous phrase, and was a ‘much milder version’, adding: ‘William and Kate were clear which side of the debate they were on. They wanted it toughened up a bit.’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021

When a courtier first suggested the ‘recollections may vary’ phrase at least two palace officials were said to have argued against it in case it riled Harry and Meghan further.

But it was Kate ‘who pressed home the argument that it should remain’, Mr Low’s book said. 

The toughened-up draft went to Buckingham Palace for approval – and came back a couple of hours later, with a ‘yes’ from the Queen, before being released.

It came at a time when the Sussexes had plunged the Royal Family into one of the most challenging periods in modern royal history during the twilight years of the Queen’s reign.

The Megxit saga, the rift between Harry and his brother Prince William and then the allegations in the Oprah interview left the Windsors in turmoil.

But the Sussexes have always made efforts to publicly praise the Queen, even naming their daughter Lilibet after her – her family nickname since childhood.

MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment, and asked a spokesman for Harry and Meghan whether there is any update following last week’s statement.