One Of The First Royals To Leave Balmoral Won't Surprise Anyone
The world is reeling following the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II. The beloved monarch passed away "peacefully at Balmoral," her summer home in Scotland, on September 8, per the royal family's official Twitter account.
Shortly after Her Majesty met the new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss (via The Independent), a spokesman revealed: "Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen's doctors are concerned for Her Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral." A planned virtual meeting of the Privy Council was cancelled and, soon after, various senior royals including Princes Charles and William began making their way to Scotland.
Most notably, per Express, a depressed-looking Prince Harry was also photographed in transit to Balmoral. The Duke of Sussex was coincidentally also in the UK, alongside wife Meghan Markle, on a whistle-stop semi royal tour, when news of the queen's rapidly deteriorating health was announced. Commentators were thrilled to see the royal defector, who's long been on the outs with his famous family, rallying in Her Majesty's time of need. But, sadly, it doesn't look like Harry stuck around for long.
Prince Harry spent just over twelve hours total in Balmoral
Prince Harry was snapped boarding a plane bound for London Heathrow, at Aberdeen airport, less than a day after mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, alongside his father and other family members. The Daily Mail reports the Duke of Sussex, who was glimpsed comforting a distraught airport worker who offered her condolences, is planning to stick around for another ten days until his grandmother's state funeral takes place, however.
The prince, who travelled to Scotland without his wife, Meghan Markle, was the last one to arrive at Her Majesty's summer home and the first to leave. Sadly, Harry didn't make it in time to say his goodbyes to the queen, as a result. He was reportedly heading back down south to be with Meghan. The royal defector arrived at Balmoral around 8 p.m. last night, and just over twelve hours later, a downbeat Harry was seen waiting to be driven away from the family home. He boarded his flight to London at 10 a.m.
Funnily enough, although the Sussexes' relationship with the royal family has been strained for a while, the queen's death means their children have technically become Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, according to The Guardian. Meghan previously revealed Archie was denied a title due to the color of his skin, but King Charles's ascension means that could all change. However, his plans to slim down the monarchy may stop it from happening.
The Sussexes have a long way to go to repair their relationship with the royals
It was heartening to see Prince Harry rallying alongside the rest of the royals to be by Queen Elizabeth's side, but anybody hoping the strained relationship between the warring family members is now fixed will be sorely disappointed. As royal expert Kinsey Schofield warned TMZ, Harry's bombshell memoir still hasn't come out yet, and it's expected to take aim at several senior royals, including Camilla Parker Bowles, the new Queen Consort.
Meghan Markle has a number of pre-recorded episodes of her "Archetypes" podcast in the can, too, that could prove to be problematic once released to the world. Moreover, it's worth noting the queen was known for bringing the Duke of Sussex and his brother and father together, so without her, it may prove difficult to bridge the gap. Meghan and Harry could be useful to King Charles, though, as royal author Tina Brown told The Sun.
"My guess is Charles is really going to want them back — sort of need them back actually — because Harry and Meghan were huge assets to the whole royal repertoire quite frankly," she argued. "They had a young appeal that was very, very potent in the country." It remains to be seen what will happen to Meghan and Harry now Charles has become king, but it's safe to assume there's a lot of work to be done to fix their relationship regardless.