Prince William flies to Balmoral for solo trip with King Charles after Harry reunion

Prince William has flown to Balmoral to spend some one-on-one time with his father King Charles for the third consecutive year.

The Prince of Wales was spotted disembarking a private plane at Aberdeen airport on Tuesday, shortly after his engagement in Southport with Princess Kate. According to a royal source, William journeyed to Scotland to spend "an informal few days with his father privately".

The insider said that the trip was "not diarised with senior staff, but set aside to chat as sovereign and heir," according to the Daily Mail. William made the trip alone, with Kate believed to be remaining in Windsor with their children.

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Since King Charles' accession to the throne in 2022, the father and son have established something of a tradition in taking "mini-breaks" together in Scotland, with this visit expected to last a few days.

The trip is separate from the royal family's usual summer gathering at Balmoral Castle, which is a multi-generation vacation for the wider family and a tradition King Charles has continued from Queen Elizabeth's reign.

Although the King has returned to his royal duties since the end of the summer holidays, he is believed to stay at Balmoral until the end of the month.

The King and Prince William are unlikely to disclose any information from their few days together, which comes just weeks after the King reunited with his other son Prince Harry after more than a year apart.

During Harry's whirlwind UK visit at the start of September, he had a rare meeting with King Charles at Clarence House in London, marking their first face-to-face meeting since February 2024.

In between charitable engagements, Harry travelled to the royal residence for a 55-minute private tea. Afterwards, the duke responded to reporters and said, in reference to his father, "Yes, he's great."

Their meeting is thought to have been a step in the right direction for a father-son reconciliation following years of built-up tensions that followed after Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from their royal duties in 2020 and moved to California.

Just hours later, Harry gave an interview during a visit to war-torn Ukraine. He told The Guardian that over the coming year, "The focus really has to be on my dad."