Royal expert reveals the legal reason King Charles did not meet Prince Harry ahead of his court case on PALACE CONFIDENTIAL

King Charles did not meet Prince Harry ahead of his High Court showdown – but one of the Daily Mail’s royal experts has revealed the legal explanation as to why.

The Duke of Sussex, 40, flew 5,000 miles from California on Sunday to attend a two-day hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Meanwhile, his father, 76, spent the weekend at Highgrove, his private Gloucestershire home, resting ahead of his State Visit to Italy with Camilla.

But MailOnline exclusively revealed on Tuesday that the father-son pair did not meet.

During the latest episode of Palace Confidential, Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman said: ‘There is legal jeopardy which is the simple fact that here you have the son of the King suing the King’s ministers in the King’s court and that just creates all sorts of legal problems.

‘It would only need Harry to have a conversation with his father and then afterwards let slip, “Oh my dad said this or my dad said that” and as we know, he does repeat conversations quite readily. 

‘That could lead to all sorts of problems. It could actually bring down a court case because the king is the fount of justice. He has got to be very careful.’

Robert, who is the author of Charles III – The Inside Story, acknowledged that ‘there may be other reasons why the King doesn’t want to see Harry right now’ including the monarch’s ongoing treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.

Prince Harry walks to the Royal Courts of Justice on April 9, 2025

Royal biographer Robert Hardman revealed the ‘simple’ legal reason why King Charles did not meet Prince Harry ahead of his court case on the latest episode of Palace Confidential

‘Let’s not forget, there is a lot of stress,’ Robert said. ‘He is someone undergoing medical treatment so people are trying to keep the stress levels down but his legal advice is you can’t have a conversation until all this is sorted out.’

Mr Hardman was joined on the hit YouTube talk show by host Jo Elvin and fellow royal expert Richard Eden to discuss Prince Harry’s High Court showdown.

The Duke of Sussex has appealed against a ruling over the right he, Meghan Markle, Archie and Lilibet have to taxpayer-funded bodyguards while visiting the UK. 

He has claimed he was ‘singled out’ for ‘inferior treatment’ when the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) stripped him of his top-level security in February 2020, following Megxit.

The case has cost the British taxpayer £500,000 so far. 

In a stirring speech with the Duke of Sussex sat 15 feet behind her, the prince’s barrister Shaheed Fatima KC told the Appeal Court: ‘One must not forget the human dimension to this case.

‘There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security, and whose life is at stake.’

When asked for his thoughts on Palace Confidential, Richard branded the legal battle ‘ridiculous’.

MailOnline revealed on Tuesday that the King did not meet Prince Harry ahead of his legal battle in London

Instead Charles spent the weekend at Highgrove, his private Gloucestershire home, resting ahead of his State Visit to Italy with Camilla.

‘Essentially the courts have ruled that Prince Harry is not entitled to automatic tax-payer funded protection when he is in this country,’ he said.

‘He is not happy with that and he has appealed against a ruling over the right he, Meghan Markle, Archie and Lilibet have to taxpayer-funded bodyguards while visiting the UK.

‘His view is that he should have it and that he has been unfairly denied this protection when he is in Britain and he clearly feels very strongly about it.’

But the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor continued: ‘I think it’s a ridiculous case. How on earth should he be entitled to it? That sense of entitlement is incredible.

‘He has chosen to quit royal duties and with that came the protection and everything alongside it. He is trying to have all the benefits of being a working royal without that.’

Interrupting to play Devil’s Advocate, Jo said: ‘I suppose what he is arguing is that he is still in the line of succession, he is still born into this royal life, he still is the target of security threats. Is that fair?’

To which Richard replied: ‘His argument is that he has been denied it unfairly and that proper processes haven’t been followed. Obviously, we will wait to see what the Appeal Court says and what the judgement is.

Adding his own insight, Robert said: ‘Royal security is always done on a case-by-case basis. I’m quite sure if he is in a public space in this country, we are not going to be told what the security arrangements are but there are going to be some and they will be done very thoroughly.

The Duke of Sussex has claimed he was ‘singled out’ for ‘inferior treatment’ when (Ravec) stripped him of his top-level security in February 2020

The prince’s barrister Shaheed Fatima KC leaves the Court of Appeal on Tuesday

She told the court: ‘One must not forget the human dimension to this case. There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security, and whose life is at stake’

Richard Eden (left), Robert Hardman (centre) and Jo Elvin (right) feature on this week’s episode of Palace Confidential

‘From talking to lawyers this week, what surprised a lot of people was the simple fact that Prince Harry decided to come and sit in court during what is a fairly technical, dry set of proceedings at the court of appeal. 

‘This is not where you would normally expect someone who has brought the case. Normally, you would just leave it to the lawyers to thrash it out. 

‘I think a lot of people in the legal profession are going: “Well, why is he there?”‘

For more intriguing insights from the Mail’s team of unrivalled Royal experts, watch the latest episode of Palace Confidential in full on YouTube now and subscribe to the Daily Mail Royals YouTube channel.