Prince Philip: Grief ‘could help bring royals back together’

Shared grief over Philip’s death could be an ideal opportunity to mend tensions in the royal family, says a former PM.

Prince Harry has arrived in Britain to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip on Saturday. Picture: AFP

Shared grief over the Duke of Edinburgh’s death could be an ideal opportunity to mend any rifts within the royal family after Prince Harry’s move to the US, a former prime minister has said.

Sir John Major made his comments on Sunday before reports that the Duke of Sussex had arrived in Britain from California to attend his grandfather’s funeral.

The extent of the tensions between Harry and other members of the royal family was made clear during a television interview he gave with his wife, Meghan, to Oprah Winfrey last month.

Major told The Andrew Marr Show on BBC1 he agreed with Cardinal Vincent Nichols, head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, who said that many families “gather and get over tension and broken relationships” at funerals.

Former British PM John Major. Picture: AFP

“I’m sure he is right,” Major, 78, said. “The friction we are told has arisen is a friction better ended as speedily as possible. A shared emotion, a shared grief, at the present time because of the death of their grandfather, I think is an ideal opportunity. I hope very much that it is possible to mend any rifts that may exist.”

Major said that the Queen had “earned the right to have a period of privacy in which to grieve with her family” after the loss of her husband of 73 years. The former Conservative leader was in office from 1990 to 1997, which covered the annus horribilis of 1992.

Harry was believed to have flown back to Britain on Sunday. An onlooker said that the prince was on a British Airways flight from Los Angeles that landed at Heathrow. “I saw him get into an escorted car,” the person told The Sun. The duchess of Sussex, who is heavily pregnant, has stayed in Los Angeles with the couple’s son, Archie, on the advice of her doctor.

It is Harry’s first time in the UK since the couple stepped back from royal duties more than a year ago. He is expected to join his father, the Prince of Wales, and his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, at the funeral of Saturday when they are to walk behind the coffin as it heads to St George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle.

Harry said in their joint interview with Winfrey that he felt “really let down by my father”. He described his relationship with his brother as “space, at the moment”.

Meghan also alleged that a royal family member talked about how “dark” Archie’s skin would be. It was clarified that the comment was not made by the Queen or Prince Philip.

Although it has not been confirmed officially where Harry will stay on his return, the Sussexes’ official residence in England is Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor. It is understood that Princess Eugenie, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, are staying there with their baby son, August, after the Sussexes went abroad last year.

Under the coronavirus rules, Harry will have to spend time in quarantine after arriving from America. If he does move in with his cousin, however, her family would not be required to isolate unless they or Harry developed symptoms of COVID-19.

Anyone arriving in England from America must take a coronavirus test before travelling, which must be negative before they board an aircraft. Harry would then have to take another test within two days of arriving. If that is negative, he could pay for a private test five days after arrival and if that is also negative, he could reduce his self-isolation from the ten-day requirement. There has, however, been speculation that he might be considered exempt from travel restrictions.

There is also a law that allows the public to temporarily exit quarantine on “compassionate” grounds, which includes funerals. Guidance published on the government website states: “You can leave your place of self-isolation in limited circumstances, including on compassionate grounds. This includes attending a funeral of a household member, a close family member or a friend (if neither household member or close family member can attend the funeral).” It adds: “You must continue to self-isolate at all other times.”

The Times