King Charles laughed off an awkward request to "bring back" Prince Harry and at first asked "Who?" on a busy day in East London today.
The monarch had been visiting the University of East London's Stratford campus in east London for its 125th anniversary, unveiling a plaque and opening its new hospital and primary care training hub.
The King was accompanied on the visit by Professor Amanda Broderick, UEL’s vice-chancellor and president, and was greeted by several dignitaries when he arrived shortly after midday.
He shook the hands of onlooking students who had waited for hours to see him, one of whom asked: "Can you bring back Harry?"
The King replied: "Who?" after initially mishearing, before bursting into laughter when he understood what the man had said.
Charles has had a bumpy relationship with his younger son who along with wife Meghan Markle quit royal duties in 2020 to move to the United States.
Last month, Harry released his controversial tell-all memoir Spare, where he criticised his stepmother Queen Camilla and said his father put his own interests before his.
This has led to questions over whether Harry and wife Meghan will come to the UK later this spring for Charles' coronation on May 6.
Meanwhile at the university, the King also met three infants and their mothers at the hub’s baby development lab which researches how living in urban areas affects children’s early years.
One of the infants started crying when the King sat down on the sofa, to which he replied: "Oh dear."
He was later given bouquets of flowers by two local schoolchildren and a toddler. The toddler enthusiastically handed his posy to the King before he had finished greeting the first pupil, which greatly amused the monarch.
The hub hosts a range of wards that simulate real-life hospital care – including accident and emergency, intensive care and maternity care – and will train future NHS professionals on the university’s nursing and physiotherapy courses.
He also had a busy start to the day as he and Camilla were given a rapturous reception as they visited the Brick Lane area of East London
They met with charities and businesses in the heart of the British Bangladeshi community, and individuals who were actively involved in the anti-racism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
And then later he was back at Buckingham Palace for an audience with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who he met for the first time.
Mr Zelensky was dressed in his trademark khaki green military fatigues as he was welcomed to the royal residence on Wednesday afternoon.
Charles greeted the president with a wide smile and a warm handshake in the Palace’s 1844 Room.
The president is on his first visit to the UK since the Russian invasion of his country began and in his address to Parliament said he would take the opportunity to thank Charles for the support he had shown Ukraine as the Prince of Wales.
He said meeting the King was a "truly special moment" and referred to Charles’s former military service in the Royal Air Force, saying: "The King is an air force pilot and in Ukraine today, every air force pilot is a king."
