Senior aides to the King and Prince Harry have been pictured together in London, in what’s reported to be an initial step towards his reconciliation with the royal family.

Images obtained by the Mail On Sunday show Meredith Maines, the duke’s chief communications officer, and Liam Maguire, who runs Harry and wife Meghan Markle’s British public relations team, meeting the King’s communications secretary Tobyn Andreae at the Royal Over-Seas League near Clarence House last week.

The Mail reported it was not known which side initiated the meeting, but a source confirmed the rendezvous.

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

“There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.”

The rift between the Sussexes and the royal family escalated following their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which they alleged a member of the family was concerned about their son Archie’s skin tone before he was born.

Then the duke claimed in his controversial memoir, Spare, his older brother William had physically attacked him and the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of Meghan.

Harry’s security changed in 2020 when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to the US. He has since said the royal family and officials hoped his realisation of the increased safety risk “would force us to come back”.

In May, Harry failed in an appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the British Home Office, over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures to reduce his level of taxpayer-funded security.

In a BBC television interview after losing the court battle over his security, Harry said the King wouldn’t speak to him and said he didn’t know “how much longer my father has” as he spoke of his hopes for a “reconciliation” with his family.

The monarch continues to receive treatment after being diagnosed with cancer in February last year.

On the day the photos of the aides meeting emerged, the Prince and Princess of Wales were at the Wimbledon men’s single final, with children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

-with AAP