In regular families, a prodigal son would have to reach out himself to try and arrange private time with his alienated father to hash out their differences.

In Prince Harry’s case? His father, King Charles III, reportedly stopped taking his calls after the California-based, exiled royal sued the U.K. government over not giving him automatic taxpayer-funded security; Charles also has to worry that Harry will go public about their private conversations. So, Harry had to send some emissaries — including Meredith Maines, his and Meghan Markle’s new chief communications officer — to meet with Charles’ people about beginning a rapprochement.

As the Daily Mail revealed, that meeting took place Saturday at a high-end private club near Clarence House, Charles’ London home. In addition to Maines, Harry’s neighbor in Santa Barbara County and a graduate of Stanford University, the meeting involved Liam Maguire, Harry’s public relations representative in the U.K., and Tobyn Andreae, the king’s communications secretary.

Prince Charles, Prince of Wales kisses his son Prince Harry as Prince William, Duke of Cambridge looks on ahead of the Invictus Games Opening Ceremony at Queen Elizabeth II Park on September 10, 2014 in London, England. The International sports event for ‘wounded warriors’, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, is just days away with limited last-minute tickets available at www.invictusgames.org (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) 

It is not known whether Charles or Harry reached out first to “extend the olive branch.” But insiders told the Daily Mail that this meeting — after two years of “icy silence” — is the strongest sign yet of the determination on both sides to resolve the bitter House of Windsor feud.

“There’s a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years,” a source told the Daily Mail.

There was no formal agenda for the meeting — “just casual drinks,” the insider said, adding: “There were things both sides wanted to talk about.”

But the Daily Beast’s European editor Tom Sykes suggested that resolving the family feud can only go so far because this “casual” summit didn’t include any representatives from Prince William’s team.

As Sykes said, it’s no surprise that William would not want to participate in this attempt at detente, given “the deep personal animosity between the brothers.” William’s “loathing” for his younger brother “runs deep,” with a longtime friend of the Prince of Wales once telling Sykes:  “He absolutely (expletive) hates Harry.”

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 14: Prince William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walk behind the coffin during the procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II on September 14, 2022 in London, England. Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is taken in procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lay in state until the early morning of her funeral. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) 

Following the meeting, this friend told Sykes that William would not have supported the meeting.

“William will never, ever forgive Harry for what he has done,” the friend said. “Charles is the king; he can do what he likes. But make no mistake: William believes with every fiber of his being that giving Harry and Meghan back any royal imprimatur is a huge mistake.”

William probably wasn’t happy to learn about the meeting on Sunday, sources told Sykes. The British public also has reason to be wary about the king allowing Harry to return to the royal fold, given his “brattish and selfish behavior” said Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine. “Many are deeply disappointed and saddened by his actions,” Vine said. “He can’t just swan back as though nothing had happened; he is going to have to earn back the love and respect he so blithely squandered.”

What such statements mean is that Harry and his communications team — led by Maines — have their work cut out for them.

Maines also may be a curious choice for this assignment. While her LinkedIn page touts her as an “experienced brand and communications leader,” who previously worked for Google and Hulu and got her undergraduate and MA degrees in communications at Stanford University, she also helped orchestrate Harry’s off-the-rails BBC interview in early May, which risked further alienating his father and his family, according to British news reports.

The interview took place after a London court shut down Harry’s appeal over the levels of taxpayer-funded police security that he and his family receive when they’re on British soil.

During the interview, Harry made all sorts of incendiary claims, alleging mistreatment by his father and supposed shadowy figures in the royal establishment. In Harry’s words, these figures have been in cahoots to “harm” him and his family, like his mother Princess Diana, by denying them appropriate levels of security for the few days each year they might be in the UK.

Like the disastrous BBC interview of Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew, “it’s a wonder that anyone thought this would be a good idea,” Times U.K. assistant royal editor Kate Manley wrote at the time.

Sykes said that Harry also upset royal insiders by raising doubts about his father’s health and longevity, given that the 75-year-old king has been battling cancer over the past year. “I don’t know how much longer my father has,” Harry said, as he still expressed hope of reconciliation with his family.

“There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” Harry said. “Life is precious.”

As followers of the royal family feud know, the disagreements between Harry and William probably go back to their childhood when Harry saw his brother, as the heir to the throne, receive certain privileges and responsibilities, while he was regarded as the “spare” and not taken seriously. The brothers, though, seemed to forge a deep bond and protectiveness for each other following the 1997 death of their mother.

But that bond began to collapse once Meghan, an American former TV actor, entered Harry’s life, according to various accounts. William didn’t trust her motives in marrying into the wealthy and powerful British royal family, while Harry and Meghan believed she was a natural “star” who could bring new relevance to a tradition-bound, 1,000-year-old institution.

After Harry and Meghan left royal duties to move to the United States, the rupture became globally apparent during Harry and Meghan’s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. Harry and a biracial Meghan accused unnamed members of the royal family — later revealed to be the king and Kate Middleton — of asking questions about the color of their then-unborn child’s likely skin color. The rift deepened after the couple released their 2022 Netflix documentary series and reached a new low with the publication of “Spare,” Harry’s best-selling memoir, as Sykes reported.

In the memoir, Harry portrayed his older brother of having anger management issues and of attacking him in a fight over Meghan and pushing him into a dog-food bowl. He also suggested that his once-beloved sister-in-law Kate was unnecessarily cold to Meghan and caused her to cry in a dispute over bridesmaids’ dressed before his and Meghan’s May 2018 wedding.