Four years after their last meeting, the King and Queen have hosted a long-awaited reunion with Prince Harry, Meghan and their two young children.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, to the monarch’s private residence, Highgrove House in the English countryside, on Friday – shortly after Harry wrapped up his appearance at the Invictus Games “One Year To Go” countdown event in Birmingham.
The last time the King saw his grandchildren – and Meghan – was in 2022 when they travelled to the UK for the then-Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The wheels were set in motion for the long-awaited catchup after Harry arrived in Britain on Monday, and Meghan and the children are understood to have quietly flown in on Thursday evening.
Speculation had been mounting about whether the duchess, Archie and Lilibet would even come to the UK at all, after their plans for a longer family visit were scrapped at the last minute over security concerns.
Meghan was due to join Harry at several engagements this week, including Friday’s Invictus Games event, but later pulled out of all public appearances.
Any planned time with the King was also thrown into doubt after an awkward briefing clash on Monday, which began with Harry’s team confirming he had accepted an offer of accommodation at Buckingham Palace – only for the Palace to quickly point out that he had missed the deadline to RSVP and it was therefore no longer available.
Drama also broke out on Tuesday as Harry was due to appear at his first engagement of his UK trip, an Invictus event in central London, and discovered shortly beforehand that he had lost his long-running court battle with the Daily Mail’s publishers.
Last month, news.com.au exclusively revealed Harry and Meghan’s plans for a trip with their kids to Britain, in line with celebrations around the Invictus Games One Year To Go countdown in Birmingham.
However, just hours after the visit was confirmed, Harry was reportedly informed that the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) had denied his application for police protection in the UK, causing him to reconsider his family’s involvement in the visit.
A source close to Harry told news.com.au recently that Harry had been desperate to bring his kids back to the UK to spend time with his “wider family”.
“It’s been a real point of great sadness – for Harry especially – that he’s been unable to bring his wife and kids back to the UK safely to reconnect with friends and family, but anyone would understand his desire to put their safety first,” the insider said.
“He would love to introduce the children to his wider family, to show them the UK, where he grew up – his homeland. That would be a natural thing for any parent.”
While Archie spent most of his first year of life in the UK, his sister Lili was born in the US.
Her only visit to Britain coincided with her first birthday, which she celebrated with her family at Harry and Meghan’s former home, Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor.
Friday’s reunion came shortly after Harry made a solo appearance at the Invictus countdown event at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, during which he joined with competitors to take part in a range of sports including some new additions for 2027 such as pickleball.
He also showcased his competitive side in a robust wheelchair basketball match.
Afterwards, he addressed the crowd, praising the “resilience” of those within the military communuity, many of whom he’d known since the inaugural Games in 2014.
“Some of us have lost more of our hair,” he said.
“Some of us look younger, some of us look older.”
Harry added: “The world has a lot of troubles. When it comes to natural resilience, let’s use this moment for the next 365 days to lean on and use the Invictus community.”
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