Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Quietly Met With the Queen for First Time in 2 Years
For the first time since their final event as senior royals in March 2020, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry met with the Queen together in person, the Duke and Duchess of
Sussex's rep confirmed this afternoon.
Royal reporter Omid Scobie shared the news shortly after TMZ reported that Meghan and Harry made a quiet pitstop to the U.K. and met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles there. Meghan and Harry will be attending the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, together this weekend. “It was a Windsor visit that their team recently revealed the duke ‘hoped to do,’” Scobie tweeted.
????????: A Sussex spokesperson confirms that, prior to arriving in The Hague for @InvictusGamesNL, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan stopped in the UK this morning to visit the Queen. It was a Windsor visit that their team recently revealed the duke "hoped to do".
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) April 14, 2022
Multiple sources told TMZ that the couple flew first class from Los Angeles to London on a Tuesday night commercial flight. The sources said the couple intended to enjoy a “lowkey visit this week in London” before going to the Netherlands. TMZ reported that Prince Charles was also present at the meeting with the Queen.
TMZ characterized the meeting as “their first attempt in-person at making peace” after their stepping back from royal roles reportedly strained the family's relationships. Meghan and Harry didn't bring their two children, Archie and Lili, with them on the trip, the outlet added.
Meghan and Harry have been open about being close with the Queen despite everything. Even during their Oprah interview, the couple spoke warmly about their relationship with Queen Elizabeth II.
“The queen, for example, has always been wonderful to me,” Meghan told Oprah. “I mean, we had one of our first joint engagements together. She asked me to join her, and I went on the train. And we had breakfast together that morning and she gave me a beautiful gift and I just really loved being in her company, and I know we were in the car—Yeah, she gave me some beautiful pearl earrings and a matching necklace—and we were in the car going between engagements. And she has a blanket that sits across her, her knees, for warmth and it was chilly and she was like, Meghan, come on, and put it over my knees as well.”
“I've spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have [in] many, many years,” Harry told Oprah. “My grandmother and I have a really good relationship and understanding, and I have deep respect for her.”