Only the weather was the same. A bright sun shone from the blue sky just as it had on that May morning almost four years ago, when Prince Harry had taken his new bride home through merry crowds at Windsor Castle in a horse-drawn carriage. Everything else had changed.
This time, the husband and wife retreated behind the tinted windows of a human carrier for the short trip from their former home, Frogmore Cottage, to the castle.
And instead of thousands of well-wishers lining the route, there was a rather modest influx of spectators gathered for the spectacle of Holy Thursday’s service at St. George’s Chapel.
Harry and Megan were faced with two grim meetings that would almost certainly determine their long-term status in the royal family – as future participants or as ordinary observers.
Harry’s offer to interrupt his long flight from Los Angeles to The Hague in the Netherlands, where he attended his Invictus Games, landed in Windsor to see his grandmother a year after their last meeting at Prince Philip’s funeral, was warmly welcomed by the Queen. The moment was important.
For the Queen, Easter’s promise of spiritual renewal and forgiveness — such an important time of year for her — was an opportunity.
But there were limitations: before meeting the queen, Harry had to see his father first.
Just as in the Megxit crisis, when she insisted that Sussex’s departure from Britain was being watched by Prince Charles, the Queen once again demonstrated that she had her own red lines.
And since the Prince of Wales was also in Windsor – with the Duchess of Cornwall – where he replaced his mother to distribute Maundy’s money to the public, there were no logistical obstacles.
Today, all parties agreed that if there was to be reconciliation between Harry and his family, then these meetings were a crucial first step. Understandably, Harry and Megan met with Charles around 10 a.m. in 15 minutes.
Charles and Camilla then left St. George’s Castle together. In many ways, this was the most important of the two meetings. Harry and his father have hardly spoken in recent months.
He strongly criticized Charles in last year’s toxic interview with Oprah Winfrey for failing to adequately support him and also wrongly accused him of cutting him off financially.
Charles is said to be deeply concerned about Harry’s memoirs, which are due out later this year, which he fears will be used to settle more accounts.
Against this background, he was understandably worried about yesterday’s meeting with Harry.
As one of his longtime friends told me: “He loves his son and is devastated by everything that has happened, although he fears that the story will be repeated with Harry just like with Princess Diana. But he also wants to keep the door open and keep talking, something he still regrets he didn’t do with Diana.
After saying goodbye to Charles, Harry and Megan moved into the Queen’s private apartment, where they told me the atmosphere was much less harsh.
Although she was both puzzled and at times upset by many of Harry’s words and deeds over the past two years, her grandson is something of a favorite.
“He’s always had the ability to make her laugh, and she loves it in him,” says a companion.
“To this day, when she hears Harry talking on the phone, her eyes light up.”
“Failure to leak details is seen as a way to restore trust in the relationship,” they tell me.
This was not a last-minute visit, and the Queen’s recent attack of ill health, which included being infected with Covid in February, had to be taken into account.
It was also the first time Megan had seen one of her royal parents-in-law since March 2020. Interestingly, this included a fifth member of the royal family who did not attend any of the meetings – Princess Eugenia.
The princess, who temporarily lives in the villa of her cousin Frogmore Cottage with her husband Jack Brooksbank and their son August, is believed to have played an “encouraging” role behind the scenes.
She is Harry’s closest royal ally – she and Jack visited Sussex in California earlier this year – and she is also close to the Queen.
But the lack of another royal figure was most acute – Prince William, who is on a family ski vacation.
The Duke of Cambridge is his brother’s biggest critic, troubled by allegations of harassment of royal staff and allegations of racism, and a rift has broken between them.
He has not seen Harry since the two unveiled a statue of their mother in front of Kensington Palace last July, and contacts have been sporadic since.
“He doesn’t like to talk about Harry,” said a friend of the duke. “He says he has a headache.”
The breakthrough between them is an open wound that has not yet begun to heal. William is particularly worried about Harry’s deal for the book amid fears that he and his wife Kate will be at a crossroads.
“He understands the need for reconciliation and all that, but at the same time he’s worried that his father has been ‘planted’ by Harry.”
Of course, Harry and Megan arrived in the UK on Wednesday after a British Airways night flight from Los Angeles. It is believed that they did not bring their children Archie, two and ten months old, Lilibet, whom the queen has not yet met.
They were taken to Frogmore, where they spent Wednesday night before yesterday’s meeting.
After his failure to attend his grandfather’s memorial service last month – amid an ongoing lawsuit with the Home Office over the removal of his police protection – Harry’s offer to visit the Queen was seen as an olive branch.
Although it remains to be seen whether this was a real desire for rapprochement.
“This was a deeply troubling moment for the royal family and the Queen would very much like to leave the recent bitterness behind.
“Would you like to see Harry on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the platinum anniversary events?” Of course, but she knows that there must be assurance from all sides for this to happen.
Not since the days of Diana’s collaboration first with writer Andrew Morton and then with Panorama, members of the royal family have been less destabilized. But there is pragmatism inside the palace, where aides admit that Harry had to swallow some pride from his visit this week.
The courtiers will hope that once they have solved an extremely harmful family problem involving Prince Andrew, they can similarly settle their differences with Harry and Megan.
Only time will tell if they are successful and the confidence is not very high.
Was this the incognito of Harry and Megan’s visit to see the queen? The video shows a darkened van leaving Windsor Castle the same day Sussex infiltrated the UK while filming its new Netflix documentary
Footage of a darkened van and 4×4 leaving Windsor Castle on the same day as Harry and Megan crept in for an incognito visit – sparking speculation that they were on board.
The convoy traveled on Windsor High Street yesterday, preceded by two police motorcycles, in what could be the couple’s security escort.
The video may raise questions about their security measures, given that Harry had previously suggested that he would not return to the UK unless he was given full police protection.
The Sussex family has been accused of “exploiting the Queen for Netflix” and traveling for “air-clearing talks” with the Queen and Prince Charles to delight American producers on their upcoming documentary.
Speaking to MailOnline, Megan’s biographer Tom Bower sensationally called the Sussex family “the worst swindlers of the royal family” and accused the couple of “exploiting an old, unhealthy woman to boost their trust and treasury.”
Netflix is expected to send a film crew to follow Harry and Megan when they meet Ukraine’s Invictus Games for Wounded Veterans in the Netherlands for their Paralympic-style documentary.
But critics have accused the royal couple of “making money” from the Games by allowing Netflix, with whom they signed a $ 100 million deal, to participate in private meetings. And royal experts believe the VVIP status given to the couple will allow Netflix to portray the couple in a favorable light as they deal with the aftermath of their bombing interview with Oprah last year.
Speaking at the Harry and Megan summit with the Queen and Charles, Mr Bauer said last night: “I have no doubt that everything was done for their Netflix documentary. The Queen’s advisers failed to protect her from being exploited by the royal family’s worst fraudsters, while Sussex exploited an old, unhealthy woman to increase her trust and treasury.
MailOnline contacted representatives of Harry and Megan for comment. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the video.
Other experts suggest that the surprise face-to-face meeting with the Queen, who will turn 96 next Thursday and has experienced a number of health problems recently, was an “olive branch” after significant tensions between Sussex and the royal family.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said the visit would make the queen very happy, despite the couple’s vocal criticism of the couple. In an interview with Oprah, they accused an unnamed high king of racism.
Meanwhile, Megan and Harry spokesman Omid Scoby used the visit to strike at the palace staff, tweeting: “Three years ago, keeping plans for the Queen’s visit a secret would have been impossible. Yesterday was another reminder of where the constant and unwanted leaks come from. HMTQ will always choose …
Add Comment