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As global audiences watched reports of Queen Elizabeth II’s declining health on September 8 last year, it seems there was more tension behind the scenes.
Although Her Majesty’s absence from a number of recent public engagements, including a number of events during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier in the year, had suggested that she would not not feeling well, the extent of his poor health became increasingly clear as news reports shared updates this afternoon.
The late monarch was at Balmoral and as the day progressed close members of his family traveled to Scotland. However, they did not include Meghan Markle, as Charles allegedly told Harry he did not want his son’s wife to come to Scotland.
Charles, then Prince of Wales, would be at his mother’s bedside, as would Princess Anne. It is widely believed that it was precisely these two, the Queen’s two eldest children, who were by her side at the time of her death.
Her two youngest children, Princes Andrew and Edward arrived as soon as they could, accompanied by her grandson Prince William, driving their car which arrived at the gates of Balmoral at 5.06pm.
This image of Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral was taken two days before her death. It shows the royal waiting to receive then newly elected Conservative Party leader Liz Truss.
Prince Edward was accompanied by his wife Sophie, who was believed to be a second daughter by the Queen, with the couple sharing a very close bond.
The group had taken off from RAF Northolt and landed at Aberdeen Airport at 3.50pm.
This was around two hours after the late monarch’s death, at 3.10pm, and almost an hour and a half before the news was made public.
Notably, Prince Harry did not travel to Scotland with his brother or uncles, or even other family members.
Coincidentally, the Duke was in the UK with his wife, where he had several engagements, including an appearance at the One Young World summit in Manchester.
It is believed the couple turned down an invitation to see the Queen during their trip.
Despite being in the UK, Harry traveled to Balmoral alone.
This despite a statement posted via Twitter (now X) by the small media group the Sussexes interact with.
Prince William visited Balmoral with Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Sophie, then known as the Countess of Wessex (all pictured)
The statement, released at 1.53pm, read: “From a spokesperson: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be visiting Scotland.”
However, Meghan ultimately did not accompany Harry, who wrote about the episode in his Spare memoir.
According to the book, after the Sussexes asked their team to confirm that they would be canceling their pre-arranged engagements (which imminently included the WellChild Awards) to travel to Scotland, Harry received a phone call from his father.
According to Spare: “He (Charles) said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn’t want… her. He started to state his reason, which was absurd and disrespectful, and I couldn’t. Don’t ever talk about my wife that way.
“He stammered, apologizing, saying he just didn’t want a lot of people around. No other women would come, Kate wouldn’t come, he said, so Meg shouldn’t come. So that’s all you had to say.
A few days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the two couples came together for a walk around Windsor (pictured left to right: Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex)
“Now it was mid-afternoon; no more commercial flights that day to Aberdeen. And I still haven’t heard from Willy. So my only option was a charter from Luton. I was on board two hours later.
Royal expert Robert Jobson has since claimed, speaking to The Daily Telegraph Australia, that Charles asked William not to bring Kate to Balmoral, so Meghan could not come.
He explained: ‘If Catherine can’t come Meghan can’t either, it’s not appropriate for wives to attend.’
“Harry was insisting that Meghan travel with him to Scotland as the Queen’s life dwindled, but the King said it was only for the children and grandchildren to be with the Queen.
Prince Harry wrote in his memoir Spare (pictured) about the row over Meghan not coming to Balmoral while Queen Elizabeth was dying
“Privately he wanted to say Meghan was unwelcome, but he couldn’t tell Harry that, so he personally stepped in and asked Kate to stand back so it would be fairer to Meghan.”
Harry took a charter from Luton and finally arrived at Balmoral at 7.52pm, around an hour and a half after Buckingham Palace announced Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Just over 12 hours later, at 8.28am the next morning, Harry was pictured being chased out of the castle.
Prince Harry was seen with his wife, alongside Prince William and his wife Kate, on September 10 as the couples gathered for a walk among the crowds near Windsor Castle.
He and Meghan then remained in the UK until the Queen’s funeral in London on September 19, before leaving for the US the following day.