SARAH VINE: Why Harry cannot just waltz back whenever he fancies

Since it was announced that Prince Harry would grace the nation with his presence for an Invictus Games service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday, the assumption has been that he would use the trip as an opportunity to catch up, however fleetingly, with his father . .

They spent half an hour in each other’s company in February, the day after King Charles revealed he had cancer.

It wasn’t the warmest meeting by any means, but it was thought that as both men will be in central London on Wednesday afternoon – Charles hosting a garden party at Buckingham Palace, Harry further out in the city – they would have a hearty cup of tea. tea could at least be on the menu.

But there have been no public overtures from Harry or anyone close to him to suggest plans for a meeting between the pair.

In any case, the King’s agenda that day is packed with a meeting with the Prime Minister in the evening. And so, unless things change in the next 48 hours, father and son will pass like ships in the night.

If so, that would really be a big deal, if you think about it. The idea that the king, who despite his illness has already fulfilled as many royal duties as he can, may not be able to catch up with his youngest son, who lives 8,000 kilometers away, would, if you ask me, be the clearest indication that we to have. had seen until now how utterly broken Harry’s relationship with his father is.

When serious illness strikes a family, there is often a human tendency to put aside old feuds and disagreements. People usually come together, with the gravity of the situation serving as the focus – and a reminder that blood is ultimately thicker than water.

Many thought – and hoped – that this would be the case with the Royals; that, faced with a worrying illness, months of open hostility between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and those at home could end and everyone could do their best to bring Harry – if not Meghan – back into the fold to get.

If nothing else, perhaps a chance for Charles to see his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, who seem to be growing up displaced in a California bubble, estranged from their wider family.

Instead, what we’ve seen is the opposite.

Just a few weeks ago, the Duke and Duchess were ‘demoted’ on the official royal website.

Full profiles were replaced by a significantly smaller, joint biography at the bottom of the page – below (horror of horrors) the Duke of York.

Also, Harry, again along with Prince Andrew, is no longer on the list of those who can serve as state advisors and replace the king at official ceremonies.

Talk about tough love.

I have no doubt that the King loves Harry. Just like his father, he will always be that way. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be angry with him for the terrible things he has said and done, not only to Charles himself and Queen Camilla, but also to William and his wife Catherine.

And let’s not forget the fear and grief Harry caused the late Queen and Prince Philip, and how he and Meghan ruined their final years with their attention-seeking hysteria and vile accusations.

If Charles doesn’t meet Harry next week, it may be an indication that his illness – rather than softening his attitude – may have had the opposite effect on his wayward son.

Could it have hardened his view of someone who, despite remaining his son, has nevertheless in recent years inflicted nothing but misery and suffering on those who truly care about him, who have stood by his side in his hour of need , especially Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales.

And can you really blame him? Why should such serial unfaithful behavior be rewarded with kindness, patience and forgiveness, when Prince Harry himself has never shown any towards them?

Why should he be able to just walk into their entire lives whenever he wants (possibly with a TV documentary film crew in tow), regardless of all the damage he’s done?

He may be 39, but Prince Harry is still a child in many ways, a spoiled, spoiled brat who can’t see beyond his own navel.

It’s time someone taught him that he can’t have it all his way. It’s time he learned that actions have consequences.

It’s time for him to see what happens when you repeatedly betray those who love you. It’s time for him to understand that trust is hard-earned but easily lost.

Who better to do that than his own father? I hope Charles sticks to his guns and passes up the opportunity to see Harry on Wednesday. After all, a parent’s job is to do what is right, not what is easy.

• A new city council member provokes rivals: ‘Anyone who supports Zionism: we are coming after you. Free Palestine!’ A Green Party councilor in Leeds shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’ as his supporter waves a Palestinian flag. This is not politics, this is sectarianism.

• What are we waiting for, after the gruesome murder of a 14-year-old boy in Hainaut last week in an incident in which a female police officer almost lost a hand? All officers must be armed with tasers. Expecting them to otherwise stem the tide of knife crime is like asking the crew of the Titanic to save the day with a teaspoon.

Be fantastic, Joanna

Joanna Lumley as her Absolutely Fabulous character Patsy

Joanna Lumley will announce the results of the British jury during the Eurovision Song Contest this Saturday. Please, Joanna, do that in the style of your Absolutely Fabulous character, Patsy. ‘Douze points, darlings. Open the Bolly!’ God knows we could use more Patsy in these gray times.

• Madonna tests Groucho Marx’s theory that ‘you are only as old as the woman you feel’. I have enormous respect for the singer, especially because she is fit enough to perform as a woman in her mid-65s. But there is no hiding the reality: she is old enough to be the grandmother of most dancers. It’s all a bit creepy. Or do I mean crepe?
• When I think of Boris Johnson, I think of many things – but not a coiled mamba, as described by allies who say he is about to re-enter the political fray. Mambas are serpentine, stealthy creatures. Boris is about as squirmy and unremarkable as a beach ball. But if he can help the Tories bounce back, who cares. We all do the mambo parliamentiano.

Vague logic

A stage version of Fawlty Towers opened in London’s West End last night.

John Cleese claims he only agreed to the production to earn enough to never fly ‘commercially’ again. Given the state of Theaterland, that seems a bit ambitious.

Anyway, if the show is stripped of all the original anti-German jokes and uncomplimentary asides about Irish builders and Spanish waiters, there is

John Cleese, who played Basil Fawlty, claims he only agreed to the production to earn enough to never fly commercially again

With the general election fast approaching (and the last suggestion, I am told, is July), officials are prepare for a transfer of power. “We have not yet reached the point of euthanasia,” says a senior mandarin, “but the patient will certainly receive palliative care.”