The royal family sat down for dinner together at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday after receiving the Queen’s coffin, multiple outlets have reported.
King Charles III and the Queen Consort attended the family meal along with the other children and grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth II, according to CNN. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also joined members of the royal family – including the Prince and Princess of Wales – for the intimate sit-down dinner inside Buckingham Palace in London, per Page Six.
Lady Sarah Chatto and Earl Snowdon, the children of the Queen’s late sister, Princess Margaret, were also present.
The Independent has contacted representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to confirm.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrived at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening, where it was received by King Charles III and thousands of mourners outside the Palace gates. Following the British monarch’s death at Balmoral Castle on 8 September, her body was taken to Edinburgh, where it lay in state at St Giles’ Cathedral before being flown to RAF Northolt in London.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly travelled from Windsor Castle to join other royals at Buckingham Palace, where the late monarch’s children, grandchildren and their spouses privately received her coffin on the steps of the grand entrance.
Prince William and Prince Harry publicly reunited during the Queen’s procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on Wednesday, where she will lay in state until her funeral. Despite their rumoured feud, the brothers walked side-by-side behind her coffin as it made its way to the Hall. They were also joined by their father, King Charles III.
The brothers made their first public appearance together since the Queen’s platinum jubilee in June when they stepped out with their wives Kate, Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex outside Windsor Castle.
The so-called “royal four” greeted mourners and viewed floral tributes for the Queen left outside the castle’s gates. According to a royal source, Prince William extended the invitation to Prince Harry as a symbolic gesture to show “unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family”.
During his first address to the nation as king, Charles III also sent a message of “love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” which was seen as a public attempt to heal the divide between the Sussexes and the royal family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle relocated their family to California after stepping down from their roles as working royals in 2020. Last year, the couple gave a bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey about their lives within the royal family, in which they claimed a member of the royal family had expressed concerns over what colour their son Archie’s skin would be when he was born. Meghan also revealed that she was denied help after experiencing thoughts of suicide.
