This Is How Prince Harry Really Spent The Queen's Birthday
While Queen Elizabeth was celebrating her 95th birthday with a few family members at Windsor Castle, it appears as though Prince Harry was having lunch with one of Los Angeles' biggest power players at an exclusive club in Hollywood. Prince Harry arrived back home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, April 20, after spending nine days in the United Kingdom to attend Prince Philip's funeral and reunite with his family during the period of mourning, according to Harper's Bazaar.
One day after Harry's return to California, Queen Elizabeth turned 95 in a somber fashion, without the pomp and circumstance of birthday celebrations of years before (per TODAY). And instead of spending some time with his grandmother on her big day, insiders told Page Six that Prince Harry was actually spotted getting lunch with Wallis Annenberg, an heiress and president of the multibillion-dollar philanthropic organization The Annenberg Foundation.
These insiders told Page Six that the pair had lunch at the exclusive Hollywood club San Vicente Bungalows. This infamous and incredibly secretive club has been a comfortable (and press-free) spot for celebrities like Justin Bieber, Johnny Depp, and Mick Jagger for years (per GQ). "They sat outside, far from other people, and Harry came in wearing a mask," the source told Page Six. While the motives behind the conversation are unknown, Annenberg possesses quite a bit of social power in the city through her role on the boards of USC, the LA County Museum of Art, and LA's Museum of Contemporary Art.
The royal family and Annenbergs were connected to one another in the past
Wallis Annenberg is the daughter of Walter Annenberg, an American publishing magnate who owned and operated Triangle Publications (via the Annenberg Foundation). Aside from being a successful businessman, Annenberg also served as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1969-74. This is when Walter and his wife, Leonore, first met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Throughout the years, the couples maintained a close relationship, with the royal couple even paying a visit to the Annenbergs' famous historical Sunnylands estate in 1983 (per Sunnylands).
And per Page Six, it was Annenberg's philanthropist daughter who Prince Harry met with on Wednesday, April 21, the day of his grandmother's 95th birthday, which she celebrated amid a period of mourning after the death of her husband Prince Philip on April 9. The royal family tweeted a statement, which paid tribute to the many warm wishes the family had received. "I have on the occasion of my 95th birthday today received many messages of good wishes, which I very much appreciate," read Her Majesty's statement. "While as a family we are in a period of great sadness, it has been a comfort to us all to see and to hear the tributes paid to my husband, from those within the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and around the world."
While it seems as though Prince Harry had made some sort of amends during his talk with Prince William, many are wondering why he didn't stick around one day more for Queen Elizabeth's birthday.