Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have paid a secret visit to England, visiting Windsor Castle where they met the Queen.
They are not believed to be accompanied by their children, Archie and Lilibet. Lilibet has not met the Queen before and there has been considerable pressure on the couple to bring her to the UK to meet.
A spokesman for the couple confirmed to The Daily Beast that they did indeed visit the Queen but said nothing about meeting Charles, some British media reported on Thursday.
The reunion, which the spokesperson said takes place while the pair are en route to a high-profile three-day event in the Netherlands to support the Invictus Games, the Paralympic-style event for wounded soldiers that Harry co-founded in 2014 , will go a long way to raising hopes that Harry and Meghan will appear at this summer’s anniversary celebrations, which peak in the first week of June.
The meeting marks the first time the couple has seen the Queen in person since an awkward encounter at the 2020 Commonwealth Day service just over two years ago. That was the last time Meghan set foot on British soil, although Harry returned home for his grandfather’s funeral in 2021.
Relations between Harry and Meghan and the rest of the Windsors have soured dramatically since they left the UK, hitting a rock bottom after they accused an unnamed family member of racism in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The couple’s presence in the UK became public after they were seen walking through the Windsor estate by a busload of churchgoers arriving for the traditional pre-Easter Maundy Thursday service honoring the elderly at the Church in the Castle.
One told the Sun: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw who it was. We waved and they waved back. They looked happy and relaxed and waved to everyone on the bus. Charles and the Queen were at Windsor Castle at the same time, so they must have met them both.”
Speculation that they were meeting Prince Charles and Camilla was fueled by the future King and Queen’s presence at Windsor, where they were holding the service in the Queen’s place after she apparently retired due to ill health.
It is not known if they have plans to meet William and Kate and Harry’s office has not responded to this question.
The Daily Mail reported that they are believed to be staying at Frogmore Cottage, the house that was converted for them and given to them on their first marriage, which is not far from Windsor Castle.
However, the Sun said their security fears were allayed after Charles offered them use of his homes and security details.
As The Daily Beast recently reported, Harry and the Queen have kept in touch via regular video calls, but it is believed he has not seen his grandmother in person since Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
The surprise appearance comes ahead of Harry and Meghan’s return to the limelight with a three-day engagement in the Netherlands, where they cheer on athletes at the Invictus Games.
A narrative of reconciliation is likely to benefit both sides, with the Windsors and Sussexes showing they are serious about trying to rebuild or mend broken bridges.
For Harry and Meghan, the surprise visit will allow them to focus on their duties as they prepare to take on a starring role at this weekend’s Invictus Games in the Netherlands.
The event might otherwise have been marred by negative comments because the couple failed to visit the Queen, who is due to celebrate her 96th birthday on Thursday next week, when they were just a few hundred miles away.
Harry helped found the Games, a Paralympic-style event for wounded veterans, in 2014 and has been a leading advocate and fundraiser for them ever since. He is officially the main patron of the games.
In 2016, he persuaded his grandmother to appear in a promotional video for the biennial games with the Obamas.
The 2020 games have been canceled due to Covid, meaning this year’s event is the first iteration of the signature achievement of Harry’s former royal life with him in a new non-royal role.
While the narrative of a tentative reconciliation will no doubt be welcome, there will likely still be significant royal uneasiness over Harry’s deeply unwelcome memoir, due for release later this year.
Though the Palace has officially taken care to maintain a deliberate lightheartedness about the book, which is expected to tell the inside story of his parents’ marriage failure, there’s little doubt Harry’s decision to write a tell-all volume caused significant damage to the level of trust in his family of origin.
To further complicate the picture, Harry has also taken legal action against the British state, arguing that the government’s reversal of his automatic right to police protection when on British soil makes it unsafe for him or his family to do so to visit country.
The prevailing view in royal circles is that at least part of Harry’s previous reluctance to plan a visit to Britain was that he feared he would undermine his own argument if he were to suddenly announce that he was in fact after all Britain would come.
Team Sussex’s unwillingness to back down on this point is believed to have been behind Harry’s still-unexplained non-attendance to his grandfather’s memorial service last month.
The fact that security issues have seemingly been overcome enough for Harry and Meghan to feel comfortable calling Windsor will do much to boost hopes that they will appear during the summer’s anniversary celebrations.
Some complications remain over the next few days: there have been rumors that the couple have been given the cold shoulder by the Dutch royal family, which has not granted them a private audience or accommodation at the royal palace in The Hague, so the couple did instead Rents a room in a luxury hotel.
However, according to a report by Page Six, the couple will reportedly be with the Dutch royals at the games opening ceremony.
Page Six adds a quote from a source saying the pair “need a win” on the trip to the Netherlands.
A win would undoubtedly be good.
And scheduling a get together to wish the honored resident of Windsor Castle a happy birthday is undoubtedly a smart move when it comes to promoting Team Sussex’s compassionate brand.