Having jetted into London with his wife for work, Prince Harry was already in the UK just days before the Queen’s health began to fail, but the late monarch would take her last breath without her grandson ever saying goodbye.
His father, now King Charles III, had invited Harry, 38, and the Duchess of Sussex, 41, to stay at Birkhall, just a stone’s throw from Balmoral Castle, where the Queen passed away. However, the duo refused the offer at the time, choosing instead to base themselves at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
Kate kept her distance from Meghan during their Windsor walkabout.
Insiders reveal Harry’s main reasoning was the fact he and Meghan needed to be closer to London’s airports, given they had business in Germany too, but he also wasn’t interested in breaking bread with his 73-year-old father at that point.
Now Harry is said to be riddled with regret for letting his pride get in the way. Ultimately, his decision robbed him of one final meeting with his beloved grandmother.
“It has been rough on Harry – he’ll never forgive himself for not going to see her before she died, even though his father invited him and Meghan to come up to Scotland while they were in the UK,” a palace insider tells Woman’s Day.
“He’s devastated that he didn’t make it to Balmoral in time to say goodbye. They didn’t get a lot of forewarning that she was about to pass, and Harry didn’t have the same urgent transport privileges
of his brother and uncles.”
Tragically, Harry was pictured looking devastated as he arrived at Balmoral 90 minutes after Buckingham Palace announced the Queen had peacefully passed at age 96.
Further highlighting the gulf between Harry’s family and the rest of the royals, Prince William, in his statement about his granny’s death, told the world of his gratitude that “my three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives”.
In stark comparison, Harry’s children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, 15 months, have only met with the Queen for a handful of minutes.
“It was a painful reminder of all the things Harry’s family missed,” says our source. “Whether William meant for Harry to take it that way or not, that’s how it was received.”
The duke and his wife later put on a brave face to greet mourners outside Windsor Castle, alongside his brother William and sister-in-law Kate, both 40, the new Prince and Princess of Wales.
The “Fab Four” put on a united front for fellow mourners.
“Negotiations between family members have been tough as there is a lot of bad feeling around toward the Sussexes, especially Meghan, who gave an interview only two weeks before the Queen’s death, basically threatening that she is going to tell more family secrets.
“But William and Kate have led the way in making sure the Sussexes are part of things, including inviting them to join their walkabout at Windsor. That took a lot for William, who is still extremely distrustful of them both, but he did it because his father asked.”
Kate paid tribute to the Queen by wearing her pearl leaf brooch in Westminster.
Although they were together again, the former “Fab Four” appeared strained in each other’s company as they stepped out in Windsor, with few words exchanged between the two brothers – and none between Kate and Meghan.
“The Sussexes have reached an uneasy truce with the rest of the family, which seems only temporary,” confirms our source. “Their hands were forced when it transpired they were actually in the country when the Queen passed.”
Many commentators in the UK noted that Kate and Meghan kept a firm distance from each other while greeting crowds. Interestingly, Meghan avoided getting too far away from her husband, with onlookers describing her as “nervous” as she mingled with mourners.
Members of the public line up at Westminster Hall to pay their respects.
When the foursome met again at the Queen’s lying-in-state service at Westminster Hall, feelings seemed to have thawed somewhat between the brothers, who walked side by side for the 38-minute procession from Buckingham Palace. William later admitted it “brought back a few memories” from their mother Princess Diana’s funeral.
Our insider continues, “The past week has been difficult for the Sussexes as they navigated where they fit into the mourning process. Given they’d moved to the US, the chance of them already being in London for all this was low, so officials were thinking they’d simply join in for the funeral after all the ceremonial stuff was complete.
The royals receive the coffin after the Queen’s final journey from Balmoral.
“Charles has had to factor them into the Queen’s best-laid plans at the very last minute, balancing their recent attacks on the family with the fact that, at the end of the day, Harry is the Queen’s grandson. The royal family has gone to great lengths to accommodate the Sussexes. It would’ve been easy to put Harry and Meghan into a minor role, as they were at the Platinum Jubilee, where they were relegated to the less prominent pews at St Paul’s Cathedral.”
Back in the royal fold, Harry wept at his wife’s side.
But the royals have chosen to be magnanimous – rather than being excluded, Harry has been brought into the centre of things, lined up behind his father and beside his big brother as the Queen’s coffin made its journey from Buckingham Palace.
However, it’s telling that their wives chose to travel in different cars for the occasion, with Kate joining Queen Consort Camilla in her vehicle and Meghan accompanying Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
“Charles was incredibly grateful to Sophie for allowing Meghan to share her car,” says our source. “She and Harry are hardly back in the bosom of the family, but it’s hoped the Queen’s death could herald the start of some healing.”
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