Prince Harry and Meghan visit Queen & Charles in ‘olive branch’ meeting after snubbing Philip’s memorial
HARRY and Meghan jetted into the UK for a secret face-to-face meeting with the Queen today, The Sun can reveal.
The couple also saw Prince Charles in a whistle-stop visit to Windsor Castle — their first joint UK trip since they quit royal duty in March 2020.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stopped off on their way to the Invictus Games in Holland.
It comes weeks after Harry chose not to attend a memorial service for his grandfather Philip at Westminster Abbey — though he did promise to see his grandmother “as soon as possible”.
It is not known if the couple brought their son Archie, two, and 11-month-old daughter Lilibet — who the Queen has never met.
Yesterday’s hush-hush stopover was the first time Harry and Meghan had set foot on UK soil together since March 2020.
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They were spotted by a bus-load of gobsmacked well-wishers.
The couple smiled and waved back at the stunned visitors, who were at Windsor for the traditional Maundy Thursday ceremony.
One onlooker said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw who it was. We waved and they waved back.
“They looked happy and relaxed and waved to everyone on the bus. Charles and the Queen were at Windsor Castle at the same time so they must have met them both.
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“It was quite the sight. We knew we might see Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at the ceremony but never believed we would bump in to Harry and Meghan.”
The couple, who quit royal duty for a life in the States in 2020, have sparked anger with a series of broadsides from across the Atlantic.
Harry is also suing the Government for taking away his armed bodyguards, claiming he “does not feel safe in the UK”.
However, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said yesterday’s visit would have been welcome on all sides.
She said: “It is a wonderful opportunity to clear the air and offer an olive branch. After everything that has gone on it must have taken a lot for Harry and Meghan to go to Windsor.
“Also Maundy Thursday is a very special day for the Queen as it is about forgiveness. She is not one to hold grudges and I think she would have happily welcomed them with open arms.”
They have since caused a torrent of royal turmoil, including a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last March, when a family member was accused of racism.
Harry arrived alone the following month for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral while Meghan stayed in the US, pregnant with Lilibet.
Harry was seen chatting to brother William and his father Charles after the ceremony at Windsor Castle.
But weeks later he blasted his father and upbringing, telling a podcast he took his family to the US to “break the cycle of pain”.
Charles is thought to have offered his security and homes if Harry and Meghan stayed in the UK.
Harry only saw William when he flew back last summer for the unveiling of their mother Princess Diana’s statue.
BOMBSHELL MEMOIR
Last July it also emerged he is writing an autobiography in which he is expected to blast Charles and his stepmother Camilla.
Courtiers close to Charles discovered the plan only when it was made public.
Then in February this year, Harry claimed in legal papers that his family feels “unsafe” in the UK without armed protection.
Harry says the decision by the Home Office in 2021 to remove his taxpayer-funded Met Police bodyguards was “unfair” and “unlawful”.
His lawyer Shaheed Fatima QC told the High Court that he wants to return to the UK to see his family.
She said: “This claim is about the fact that the claimant does not feel safe when he is in the UK given the security arrangements that were applied to him in June 2021 and will continue to be applied to him if he returns.
“And, of course, it should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart. Most of all, this is, and always will be, his home.”
Harry and Meghan are both due to appear tomorrow at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in The Hague.
Harry is set to stay in Holland for the week-long event, which he helped set up for wounded soldiers.
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Meghan is due to be alongside her husband for “several days” with every move documented by a team from Netflix as part of their £113million deal.
They have been told they cannot use private armed bodyguards but are classed as VVIPs by the Dutch authorities, meaning five-star security.