The Duke of Sussex is unlikely to see his father when he arrives in the UK later this month for his trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Prince Harry is due to fly back to London from California for the opening of his High Court privacy claim which is due to start mid-January.
But with multiple commitments in the US and with the timetable of the trial still unconfirmed, it is likely Harry’s visit will only span a few days, The Telegraph reported.
The newspaper understands The King will likely be in Scotland for most of January, as he takes a break from public duties, and would not wish to be linked to any court proceedings.
Harry is one of several figures, including Sir Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, accusing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) of “grave breaches of privacy”.
The allegations include bugging homes, phone-hacking and dishonestly gathering medical and financial information.
ANL has repeatedly denied the “lurid” and “preposterous” allegations.
More than three years after the claim was first filed in October 2022, the trial is due to start on January 19, and is expected to last nine weeks.
On his last visit to the UK in September, Prince Harry visited Clarence House for a private tea, marking their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months.
The meeting, which was kept very quiet before Harry was spotted arriving, signalled a shift in attitudes after their family rift.
The duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy in 2020, levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, stepmother Queen Camilla, brother Prince William and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales, in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography Spare since moving to the US. Harry remains estranged from William.
