Prince Harry and Meghan Visit Queen Elizabeth for the First Time in UK Since Breaking Royal Ties

The visit follows Prince Harry’s absence at the memorial service to his late grandfather, Prince Philip, whom Queen Elizabeth II had been married to for 73 years. The visit may have been prompted by the Queen’s strike of ill health in February when she tested positive for COVID-19, which left her “very tired and exhausted.”

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that the couple visited the Queen at her home, Windsor Castle. The visit was a stop en route to the Invictus Games in the Hague, of which Prince Harry is founder of. The Invictus Games is an international sporting event in which injured or sick servicemen, both those injured or still serving, play various sports as a means of recovery.

This is the first time in two years that the couple has visited the Queen Elizabeth after moving to Meghan’s home state, California. Harry was last in the UK sans Meghan for the unveiling of a statue of his late mother, Princess Diana. Harry had been joined by his brother, Prince William, on July 1, 2021 to unveil the memorial on what would have been the princess’s 60th birthday.

The two broke ties from the family by stepping down as senior royals on January 8, 2020, following Meghan’s mistreatment by the UK press, as well as what Harry called a “lack of support and lack of understanding” from other senior members of the royal family.

The relationship between the couple and members of the royal family grew awkward after the couple did a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in which they revealed that a certain royal family member had made a racial comment about how “dark” their baby, Archie, was going to be once born because Meghan is Black.

The couple’s delay for visiting could have been prompted by a series of issues: the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, as well as the birth of their second child in June of last year. She is named Lilibet Diana in honor of both the queen and Princess Diana.

In addition to these delays, Prince Harry says he has been facing challenges regarding his royal security privileges. A Home Office decision had previously ruled that he would be unable to pay for police protection himself while in England, leaving him and his family at risk in visiting the UK.

The couple’s return to the UK to visit the queen may have been prompted by her recovery from COVID-19, which the 95 year-old monarch says left her “very tired and exhausted.” The queen will not be attending this year’s Easter service and will be celebrating her 96th birthday on April 21. Her Platinum Jubilee will be celebrated in June.