William and Kate's decision to miss out on a much needed catch up with Harry and Meghan during their secret visit to the UK is 'significant', a royal expert has claimed.
Meghan and Harry visited Windsor Palace on their way to the Invictus Games in The Hague and met up with the Queen and Prince Charles for "clear the air talks".
The visit saw Meghan return to the UK from the States for the first time since quitting royal life in early 2020.
Harry's brother Prince William and his wife the Duchess of Cambridge, who are said to now have a frosty relationship with the couple, were not at the reunion.
Harry had told Oprah Winfrey during their now famous interview that William was "trapped" in the royal system.
Royal expert Robert Jobson told The Mirror the couple's absence is "significant".
He explained: "Significantly, Prince William and Catherine were not involved in these ‘clear the air’ chats.
"Hopefully, in time the royal brothers too can break bread and end this new war of the Wales’s, which is in danger of turning into one of the fictional soap style dramas Meghan used to star in.
"For William to do that, however, Harry will have to show that he (and his team of PR image gurus and advisers) can keep their counsel at this early and delicate stage.
"If not, this promising development would all have been for nothing."
He added that Harry and Meghan's visit indicates "some progress on the ongoing saga of Harry and Meghan's row with the Firm".
He said: "Many still seem hell-bent on slamming Harry and his American wife, even after he reached out to his father with an olive branch and asked to meet Prince Charles and the Queen at Windsor. I am not in that camp.
"At the heart of this dispute, one must remember is a family; and a family that has had more than its fair share of hurt and pain in recent years.
"The fact that Charles agreed to see his youngest son and daughter-in-law a short notice shows what we all knew: that he of course loves them. The big question was over trust.
"The Queen would rightly only see the couple after the air had been cleared with Charles.
"After all there are still the big concerns about what is in Harry’s so-called ‘tell-all’ memoir – with royal commentators’ suggestion Camilla is in for a rough ride in its pages.
"Time will tell on that.
"But Charles and the Queen showed that – after all the back-hand behaviour by the Sussexes’ particularly the Oprah interview debacle and the snub over Prince Philip ’s thanksgiving service – that, for them, family and duty always comes first.
"If bridges are to be built, then the foundations must be laid. I am delighted Harry has seen sense and asked to meet his father and Her Majesty.
Robert reckons details of the interaction will probably be kept private to build trust and said: "After all, the Queen is about to turn 96 and Charles will be 74 in November. The meeting is understood to have been relatively short. Details understandably are sketchy.
"The Queen, who stripped Harry of his royal and military associations when he decided to walk away from being a full time royal and base his family in the US, has always said the Sussexes will always be ‘much loved family members.’
"She and Charles – by taking this first step – have shown they are good as their word. The next step hopefully will be them bringing their children, Archie and Lilibet to see the Queen, perhaps for the Jubilee celebrations.
"Nobody can truly know what was said, apart from those in the room. There were no aides present.
"But what is clear is that if a new trust – or truce – is to be established and to hold, these private chats much remain just that, and not be blurted by one of Meg’s anchor friends on a US network or discussed on the forthcoming fly-on-the-wall Netflix documentary.
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