Prince Harry and Meghan Markle secretly visited the Queen at Windsor Castle yesterday (Thursday, April 14), it's been reported. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew into the UK on a whistle-stop trip on their way to Holland for the Invictus Games.
The pair jetted in from the US to meet face-to-face with the monarch and Prince Charles, smiling and waving at stunned onlookers, reports the Mirror. Their meeting with the Queen comes after the pair chose not to attend the late Prince Philip's memorial service last month.
Members of the public were in the grounds of the royal estate for the traditional Maundy Thursday ceremony. One said: "I couldn’t believe it when I saw who it was." They described how Harry and Meghan waved at them.
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The Sussexes quit as working members of the Firm in March 2020 and have since settled in California with their two children. There have been mounting tensions between the pair and the rest of the royals due to a series of scandalous claims made from across the pond.
The surprise appearance comes amid Harry's ongoing legal action against the Home Office after it refused to supply him with armed bodyguards during any future visits to Britain. The Duke is suing the government department and claims he "does not feel safe in the UK".
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, described the visit as the offering of an "olive branch" and "wonderful opportunity to clear the air". She said: “After everything that has gone on it must have taken a lot for Harry and Meghan to go to Windsor."
The expert added that Maundy Thursday is a very special day for the Queen and is "about forgiveness", with the monarch "not one to hold grudges". Ms Seward believes she would have "happily welcomed them with open arms".
It is unclear if Archie, two, and 11-month-old daughter Lilibet joined their parents or if they are back home in Montecito. It's the first time both Harry and Meghan have been back in the UK together since they left two years ago.
Harry flew back for his grandfather Philip's funeral in April last year, but a then-heavily pregnant Meghan had been warned against the trip by doctors. The duke was also back last July to join brother Prince William for the unveiling of a statue of their late mum Princess Diana.
A Windsor visitor who clocked the couple on Thursday told the Sun: "They looked happy and relaxed and waved to everyone on the bus. "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."
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