Prince Harry Forced to Sign 'Glorified NDA' Before King Charles Reunion, Claims Source: 'The Trust Has Never Fully Recovered'

Prince Harry faced strict confidentiality conditions before his recent reunion with King Charles, with palace insiders telling OK! the duke is now effectively bound by a "glorified NDA" as he and his family return to the U.K.

Harry, 41, has been estranged from the royal family since he and his wife Meghan Markle, 45, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, but it emerged this week the couple and their children are uprooting their lives to Britain.

The rift between the pair and the royals deepened following the couple's television interviews and Harry's memoir, Spare, which revealed deeply personal conversations involving senior royals.

Now, after it emerged Harry and Meghan briefly reunited with Charles along with their two kids, Archie and Lilibet, during the Duke's recent U.K. visit, sources told us he was forced into formally vowing not to leak anything said in the meeting or use it – or any future meetings – for further Netflix projects or memoirs.

One palace source told us: "The problem with Harry is that trust has never fully recovered since he stormed away from the royal family. It was agreed any return would only happen if everyone believed private conversations would stay private. In practical terms, that amounted to him being forced to sign a glorified NDA before he and Meghan met Charles. Discretion has become the price of rebuilding relationships."

Another insider said additional security precautions could accompany future meetings.

"Nobody wants a repeat of the last few years," the source added. "There is an expectation that any devices capable of recording conversations would be left outside, and security staff could carry out routine checks before private discussions – including frisking Harry and his family. It is about protecting confidential family conversations, not humiliating Harry."

It's understood Harry was frisked before his meeting with Charles for recording devices.

One source close to Harry said: "The discussion stage is essentially over when it comes to reunion meetings with him and the royals. He is now seen as a spy, and treated like one."

Other palace insiders insist security represents only one part of a much broader conversation about rebuilding fractured relationships within the monarchy.

They say King Charles remains personally open to improving relations with his younger son but continues to approach the situation with "extreme caution" after years of public disclosures by Harry.

One courtier said: "There is a feeling that the family cannot go through another round of revelations from Harry. Before there is any meaningful reunions, Harry now has to give firm assurances that he will not speak publicly about private family matters."

Another palace source said: "His memoir and the interviews spooked everyone. From the family's perspective, trust was badly damaged. Silence and discretion are now the price of his re-entry."

It is understood Harry was not subjected to frisking or device checking in September 2025, when he and King Charles held a private, one-hour meeting over tea at Clarence House in London.

The 54-minute meeting marked their first face-to-face interaction in 19 months. While initial speculation characterized the gathering as tense or frostbitten, Harry later explicitly pushed back, calling those rumors an invention.

A source said: "It is very possible Meghan Markle's presence at the July meeting with Harry and Charles meant aides advised Charles to get Harry to sign a confidentiality agreement about the meeting."

Our insider said Meghan was not forced to sign as it "covered their whole family" and the royals did not want to "hand her another stick with which to beat them in the future."

They added: "The last thing the family need is Meghan claiming in years to come she was forced to sign an NDA-style document. But Harry knew why it was required and agreed."