Joss Stone was reunited with her pal Prince Harry at the WellChild Awards on Monday, three years after admitting they’d lost touch.
The Duke of Sussex has returned to the UK this week for a series of engagements, raising questions about whether he had plans to see his father, King Charles, and brother Prince William, during the trip.
Stunning in a dazzling black lace gown, Joss posed for snaps alongside several other stars attending the awards.
The singer, 38, had been long friends with Harry after they met at a Prince’s Trust fundraiser event in 2005, and was closely involved with his charity Sentebale, which he stepped back from earlier this year.
Joss stunned in the elegant black gown as she arrived at the Royal Lancaster hotel for the awards, joined by Rolling Stones hitmaker Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally.
The star, who rose to prominence with her 2003 album The Soul Sessions, said in 2022 she ‘hopes’ she will see Prince Harry again one day as she lamented they had lost touch.
Joss Stone was reunited with her pal Prince Harry at the WellChild Awards on Monday, three years after admitting they’d lost touch
The Duke of Sussex has returned to the UK this week for a series of engagements, raising hopes of a reunion with his father, King Charles
Stunning in a dazzling black lace gown, Joss posed for snaps alongside several other stars attending the awards
‘I went to Lesotho for Harry’s charity,’ she told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden. ‘I love that one and got deep into it. I hope I’ll see him again one day.’
Sally cut a stylish figure in a chic yellow floral dress as she posed with husband of 13 years Ronnie at the awards.
Joss attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018, which saw the couple tie the knot at Windsor Castle in front of 800 guests.Â
William’s brother touched down at Heathrow Airport on Monday, but has made the transatlantic trip on his own.
Harry’s trip to the UK, which includes four days of official engagements, will be his longest since he and Meghan visited in 2022 when Queen Elizabeth II died.
The Duke was last in the UK in April when he lost his legal challenge over the level of security protection he receives from the government while he is in Britain – after he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California in 2020.
Harry was appealing a ruling dismissing his challenge to the level of police protection he receives in the UK – but Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos ruled the Duke’s ‘sense of grievance’ did not ‘translate into a legal argument’.
Buckingham Palace is remaining tight-lipped on whether the King, who is currently at his Scottish residence in Birkhall, will meet his estranged son for the first time in 19 months.
The singer became friends with Harry after they met at a Prince’s Trust fundraiser event in 2005, but three years ago she shared that they’d fallen out of touch
Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally were also in attendance for the awards, with the producer dressed in yellow for the event
Sally cut a stylish figure in a chic yellow floral dress as she posed with husband of 13 years Ronnie at the awards
Peter Andre was joined by his wife Emily as they arrived for the awards at London’s Royal Lancaster hotel
But recently there have been signs that the fractured relationship is easing and that a reconciliation could be within reach.
The father and son last met in February 2024, when Harry flew to the UK after it was announced that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer.
Prince William, who has taken a much firmer line on rekindling relations with his brother, has official engagements elsewhere on every day of Harry’s visit.
Harry was earlier pictured arriving at Los Angeles International Airport in California wearing a casual black polo shirt and sunglasses. When he touched down in London, he was escorted out of Heathrow in a Range Rover.
The Duke was then whisked away to Windsor Castle, where he paid his private respects to Queen Elizabeth II at her final resting place at St George’s Chapel.
She was buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, a small annexe off the main chapel, alongside her husband, her parents and her sister.
Harry later arrived at the WellChild Awards in London, a charity which supports youngsters affected by terminal and serious illness and their families.
He has been its patron for 17 years – even after stepping down as a working royal – and will present an award.
On Tuesday he will visit the Community Recording Studio in Nottingham. His team says he will use the visit to announce a ‘substantial donation’ to charity Children in Need to support its work tackling violence impacting young people.
Harry’s trip to the UK, which includes four days of official engagements, will be his longest since he and Meghan visited in 2022 when Queen Elizabeth II died
Buckingham Palace is remaining tight-lipped on whether the King, who is currently at his Scottish residence in Birkhall, will meet his estranged son for the first time in 19 months
Harry has engagements on Wednesday and Thursday with other charities he is involved in, including the Invictus Games and the Diana Award.
The King has spent most of the summer at his Balmoral estate in Scotland, but is set to be in the capital mid-week for his cancer treatment.
Currently, there is no specified window for a meeting with Charles. However, The Mail on Sunday reported that should an invitation to meet be extended, Harry would drop everything to attend.
A source said: ‘A meeting with Charles is not off the table but the only people who would know about it are Clive Alderton [the King’s private secretary] and Charles and Harry.
‘If anything is planned, then he is keeping this extremely close to his chest. It certainly is part of his intention to see his father.
‘If it’s on Wednesday, then he would make it work.’