Prince Harry arrives without Meghan as royals reunite in grief
The Queen has been mourning in her own way as Prince Harry arrived in Britain ahead of Philip’s funeral and royals united in grief.
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The Queen has been mourning the loss of her beloved husband, Prince Phlip, in private as Prince Harry landed back in Britain for the first time in more than a year to pay tribute to his late grandfather.
The Duke of Sussex managed to pass through Heathrow Airport in London without being photographed.
But a witness told The Sun newspaper that he landed about 10pm Australian time last night on a flight from Los Angeles.
Prince Harry was reportedly wearing chinos, a jacket and black face mask.
The duke, who had complained about paying for his own security in the United States, was reportedly met by British security and taken from the airport in a Buckingham Palace issued black Range Rover.
A black Cadillac Escalade was seen leaving Prince Harry and Meghan’s $20 million Montecito mansion on Saturday night local time.
However, it was unclear who was in the car.
“He landed at Heathrow today. I saw him getting into an escorted car,” a witness told The Sun.
Prince Harry’s last official engagement was in March last year when he attended the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey in London.
The event was one of the last engagements before the coronavirus pandemic.
While other royals prayed in public, The Times reports the Queen was at Windsor Castle, where she attended a Sunday service.
It is understood not to have been in the castle’s private chapel, where the duke’s coffin remains at rest, draped with his personal standard and adorned with a wreath of flowers.
The Queen has been receiving regular visits from her children since Philip died at the castle.
The Sun also reports the Queen had lunch at 1pm Sunday before taking her personal Jaguar into the grounds of Frogmore House where she walked new corgi puppies named Muick and Fergus.
After a short walk in the grounds of the castle she reportedly returned at 3pm.
An insider said: “The Queen is the epitome of keeping calm and carrying on and went about her usual Sunday habits.”
ANDREW, ANNE PAY TRIBUTE TO ‘REMARKABLE’ PHILIP
It comes as Prince Andrew and Princess Anne have broken their silence about the loss of their father, who died last Friday at the age of 99.
Prince Andrew, who has kept out of the public eye after the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, paid tribute to his “remarkable” father.
“He was a remarkable man,” Prince Andrew said after attending a church service in Windsor on Sunday (local time).
“I loved him as a father. He was so calm. If you had a problem, he would think about it.
“That’s the great thing that I always think about, that he was always somebody you could go to and he would always listen so it’s a great loss.
“We’ve lost almost the grandfather of the nation. And I feel very sorry and supportive of my mother who’s feeling it probably more than everybody else.”
Prince Andrew spoke outside the Royal Chapel of All Saints at the Royal Lodge, Windsor, after attending a service with Prince Edward, Sophie Wessex, and their daughter, Lady Louise.
Prince Andrew said the Queen is “an incredibly stoic person”, but said Prince Philip’s death had left her grieving and “she is feeling it more than anyone”.
“She described his passing as a miracle and she’s contemplating, I think is the way that I would put it.” Prince Andrew said.
“She described it as having left a huge void in her life but we, the family, the ones that are close, are rallying round to make sure that we’re there to support her.”
Prince Edward added: “It’s been a bit of a shock. However much one tries to prepare oneself for something like this it’s still a dreadful shock. And we’re still trying to come to terms with that. And it’s very, very sad.”
Princess Anne, who released a statement via the royal family’s official website, remembered her father as “my teacher, my supporter and my critic”.
“You know it’s going to happen but you are never really ready,” she said.
“My father has been my teacher, my supporter and my critic, but mostly it is his example of a life well lived and service freely given that I most wanted to emulate.
“His ability to treat every person as an individual in their own right with their own skills comes through all the organisations with which he was involved.
“I regard it as an honour and a privilege to have been asked to follow in his footsteps and it has been a pleasure to have kept him in touch with their activities.”
Princess Anne added: “I know how much he meant to them, in the UK, across the Commonwealth and in the wider world.
“I would like to emphasise how much the family appreciate the messages and memories of so many people whose lives he also touched. We will miss him but he leaves a legacy which can inspire us all.”
Prince Philip was very close to his only daughter. After her birth, he reportedly said: “It’s the sweetest girl.”
PHILIP’S ‘GENTLE’ PASSING
Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, also gave a deeper insight into the family’s grief.
After leaving the church service, she said the Queen is “thinking of others before herself”.
Speaking to a mourner about Prince Philip’s passing, she said: “You know it’s going to happen but when it happens it’s just this massive, massive hole.”
Of her father-in-law’s final moments, she added: “It was so gentle. It was just like somebody took him by the hand and off he went. It was very, very peaceful and that’s all you want for somebody isn’t it.
“I think it’s so much easier for the person that goes than the people that are left behind. We’re all sitting here, looking at each other going, ‘This is awful.’”
Sophie described the tributes left by the public as “amazing” but said it was unfortunate the pandemic is “preventing people from doing what they naturally want to do which is coming together, which is hard”.
The Queen was later spotted arriving at Windsor Castle after taking her corgis out for a walk. The royal family is currently in a two-week mourning period and will only carry out engagements if appropriate.
It comes as Prince William and Kate Middleton paid tribute to Prince Philip.
The Cambridges’ official website for the Royal Foundation was updated today with a large black and white portrait of Prince Philip.
The picture shows the duke smiling widely at the camera, dressed formally in a suit.
HARRY’S RUSH TO MAKE FUNERAL
Meanwhile, it emerged Prince Harry will walk shoulder to shoulder with Prince William behind their grandfather’s coffin at Prince Philip’s funeral this Saturday, setting aside simmering tensions to honour him.
Buckingham Palace confirmed Prince Harry will attend the funeral, making a dash from California to beat Britain’s coronavirus rules.
His wife Meghan, 39, will avoid an awkward reunion following her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, because she is too pregnant to fly.
The Duchess of Sussex, who claimed the royal family was racist in that broadcast, is expecting the couple’s second child, a girl, within months.
Their son Archie, who turns two in May, was unlikely to come, with Prince Harry expected to travel to Britain alone as early as Monday.
Omid Scobie, Meghan’s biographer and close confidant of her circle of friends, said: “If there’s anything we know, Harry was incredibly close to Philip. This will be a very difficult time for him as he comes to terms with the death.
“Meghan made every effort to travel but unfortunately she did not receive medical
clearance.”
Prince Charles was said to want to put aside differences, including Prince Harry’s claims that he had stopped taking his calls and was “trapped” in his royal role, so they could do their duty for Prince Philip.
The Princes – Charles, William and Harry – may end up recreating the haunting image they formed when they marched in step with Prince Philip behind Princess Diana’s coffin before her funeral in 1997.
CHARLES’ HEARTFELT MESSAGE
Seventy-two-year-old Prince Charles has stepped up to a more prominent role, delivering a televised, heartfelt message to his “dear Papa” outside his home in Gloucestershire, about two hours west of London.
“As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” a clearly touched Prince Charles said.
“My dear Papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him, and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful for all that.
“It will sustain us in this particular loss and at this particularly sad time.”
The emotional, unscripted statement was seen as the clearest indication that Prince Charles’ sometimes strained relationship with his father had become significantly closer in recent years.
Prince Charles gave the world an insight into how ill his father was when he left King Edward VII Hospital in his chauffeur driven Tesla in tears following a visit in February.
“They disagreed on some topics, but in the last 10 years, they both mellowed towards each other,” a source told The Sunday Times.
Seats at the funeral have been limited to 30 mourners, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson passing up a place at St George’s Chapel to allow more of the Duke of Edinburgh’s family to attend.
The Queen will not be able to be hugged by her family – unless they were part of her support bubble – under current coronavirus rules in the UK.
Mourners will also be required to wear a face mask, even though many of the older congregation, including the Queen, have had a coronavirus vaccine.
Prince William and Kate’s children, Prince George, 7, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2, were likely to be the only great-grandchildren at the funeral.
FUSS-FREE FUNERAL
Prince Philip’s fuss-free funeral has been scheduled for 3pm on Saturday April 17 (midnight AET time) inside the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Prince Philip’s coffin will be taken in a specially modified Land Rover from the State Entrance of Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel for the service.
Representatives from Prince Philip’s military relationships will form a guard of honour on the lawn in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle.
Commodore Guy Holthouse, head of Australian Defence staff in London, will attend on behalf of Australia.
Military staffers from Canada, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago have also been invited.
All buildings are within the castle walls.
Buckingham Palace would not reveal which other members of the royal family would join the procession, but it was widely reported Prince Harry will be part of it.
Prince Harry’s decision to join the procession for Philip’s funeral was seen as a smoothing of the tense relationship between the brothers, who fell out spectacularly over Megxit.
“I’m sure Charles will be very happy to see his son. It’s been more than a year. The Prince is very much looking forward to seeing him,” a royal source told The Sun.
There will be a national minute’s silence in Britain at the start of the funeral.
The 30 guests cap allowed at funerals in the UK under current coronavirus restrictions will not include military staff and religious ministers.
The Duke of Edinburgh had four children and eight grandchildren.
If partners were included, the cap would almost be reached.
Prince Harry will have to travel to London within the next 48 hours to fall within COVID-19 travel rules.
He would be allowed out of quarantine following five days of isolation instead of 10 with an additional negative test.
That means he would have to arrive in Britain no later than Monday, unless he was given dispensation to attend the funeral on compassionate grounds.
The Queen attended a ceremony without a mask last month but Buckingham Palace repeatedly insisted all coronavirus rules would be followed.
And while Prince Philip, who died 62 days short of his 100th birthday, shunned a State Funeral because he did not want pomp and ceremony for his farewell, it will be televised globally.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s naval hat and sword, as well as a floral wreath, will be placed on top of his Personal Standard on his coffin.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman confirmed that he had a hand in the design of the modified Land Rover vehicle.
He was said to have joked to the Queen that he wanted to be put on the back of one of the vehicles, instead of the traditional gun carriage.
All the funeral plans had been signed off by the Duke several years ago, however they have been modified because of the coronavirus restrictions.
The public has been advised to watch the funeral on television, as there will be no public access to the grounds.
“There will be nothing to see outside Windsor Castle,” a spokesman said.
Well wishers have been urged to sign an online condolences book.
Originally published as Prince Harry arrives without Meghan as royals reunite in grief
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