By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) -Prince Harry returns to Britain this week amid speculation that he might visit his father, King Charles, for the first time in about 20 months in tentative steps towards a family reconciliation. On Monday, which also happens to be the third anniversary of the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, Harry will attend the WellChild Awards, an annual charity event for seriously ill children for which he is a longtime supporter and one of the rare events which bring him back to Britain. The visit has left media and royal commentators postulating that it will provide an opportunity for the 76-year-old monarch and his son to see each other and start healing their high-profile rift. "There is talk, growing talk, that he might well meet up with his father," said Simon Perry, who covers the royal family in London for People magazine. "I think with any time Prince Harry comes close or relatively close to his father, and they can be in the same country, there's going to be talk that they might well get together." Buckingham Palace says it never discusses private family matters, while Harry's spokesperson likewise declined to comment. The prince, 40, who last saw his father in February last year shortly after Buckingham Palace revealed the king was undergoing treatment for cancer, has been estranged not just from Charles but the rest of the Windsors since he and his wife Meghan left royal duties in 2020 and moved to California. SEEKING RAPPROCHEMENT Since then, in interviews, TV documentaries and his autobiography "Spare", the couple have been critical of the royal household with Harry delivering particularly barbed comments about his father and elder brother, heir Prince William. In an emotional interview in May, after he lost a legal battle with the British government over his security, Harry, the Duke of Sussex, told the BBC he wanted a rapprochement. "Of course some members my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course they will never forgive me for lots of things. But you know ... I would love reconciliation with my family ... there's no point in continuing to fight anymore. And life is precious," he said. "I don't know how much longer my father has. He won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile." In July, the king's communications chief and Harry's media representatives were pictured at a secret meeting in London in what newspapers suggested might be the first steps towards a reconciliation. "I think it's important for the image of the monarchy that the king and his younger son are seen to be on speaking terms," historian and author Anthony Seldon told Reuters. "I also think it's very important for both of them ... the king is the king, but he's also a human being and a loving father." Harry is not expected to see William, with newspapers saying the Prince of Wales was not yet ready to bury the hatchet with his brother. (Reporting by Michael Holden and Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
