Prince Harry desperately tried
to make it to his grandmother’s bedside to say farewell — but only found out
that she had died by reading online reports, multiple palace sources told Page
Six.
The strain and agony were
etched on Harry’s face as he was driven to Balmoral, the Queen’s Scottish
residence, hours after she had already passed away on Sept. 8.
One highly placed Buckingham
Palace insider told Page Six that Harry had been called to Scotland by his
father, the new King Charles III, in the morning. However, another palace
source confirmed that no one from the royal family, or any courtiers, actually
called Harry to tell him of the monarch’s death — leaving him to find out
from news reports when he landed late in the afternoon.
As the royal family grieved
the late Queen, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, spent more time with
relatives than they had since quitting their royal roles in January 2020. It
all begs the question: What will happen with those damaged relationships now?
Harry and Markle reportedly returned to their home in Montecito,
Calif., on Wednesday to be reunited with their children, 3-year-old Archie and
Lilibet, 1. One insider told Page Six: “I think that how Harry and Meghan
showed up in the past few days shows they were only hoping to do the right
thing and right by everyone.”
Asked whether Harry and his brother,
Prince William, have truly mended fences, palace sources confirmed the two did
talk at family dinners and gatherings.
Gayle King, a friend of the Sussexes who was in London to cover the
funeral, told “CBS Mornings” this week: “There have been efforts on
both sides … to sort of making this right.”
Adding that there had been no
real rapprochement despite these “efforts,” King added: “Big families always go
through drama, always go through turmoil. It remains to be seen — are they
going to be drawn closer together or are they going to be drawn apart? … I have
no inside information on that, but I will tell you this: It was good to see
Harry standing with his family.”
