It was a packed day of royal engagements that kept the King from meeting Prince Harry during his whistle-stop visit to the UK.

Now I can reveal that one of the items of business which kept the monarch from seeing his son was rewarding the senior peer who masterminded both his Coronation and his mother’s funeral.

Eyebrows had been raised when the Duke of Norfolk was apparently overlooked in the New Year Honours, given his pivotal role in making both occasions such successes.

But on May 7, at a private meeting in Buckingham Palace, the King presented him with a silver gilt Coronation Cup, continuing a 300-year tradition.

The 18th Duke tells me the gift has taken pride of place on the mantelpiece in his medieval family home, Arundel Castle in West Sus𝑠e𝑥.

‘After the Coronation, the King wrote a wonderful letter saying thank you, adding that a gift would be on its way,’ the Duke, 67, revealed. ‘I am absolutely delighted with the Coronation Cup.’

Monarchs have gifted gilded cups to their Earls Marshal – holders of the hereditary office responsible for major ceremonial state occasions – since George II’s Coronation in 1727, overseen by the 8th Duke of Norfolk.

George III, George IV, William IV, George V, George VI and Elizabeth II continued the tradition.

But all seven cups were stolen in 2021, when a burglar broke into Arundel Castle with a hammer and grabbed £1 million worth of antiques. No one has ever been convicted and police believe it unlikely the items will ever be found.

The presentation was one of several meetings Charles had on the day Harry landed in London.

The next day, while his son was at St Paul’s Cathedral, the King held a garden party and several meetings including with the Prime Minister and, reportedly, David Beckham.