Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are not seen in Europe all too often. But now they are here again. Not only do they pay a visit to Germany, they also spend several days in Harry's British homeland. However, his family should hardly see the royal.
It has long been clear that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan would come to Europe at the beginning of September. According to media reports, the two should have landed in Great Britain on Saturday. Apparently they don't take the time for family get-togethers here. They even turned down an invitation from Harry's father, Prince Charles, reports the "Mirror".
Citing an unnamed insider, the paper reports that Charles issued an "open invitation" and said the couple was "always welcome." The 73-year-old thought "it was a good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax, but the invitation was declined," the "Mirror" quoted his informant as saying.
Father and son are said to have had a strained relationship since Harry and Meghan's royal retirement in 2020. The Duchess recently fueled this assumption again in an interview with the magazine "The Cut": "Harry said to me: 'I lost my father in this process'", she was quoted by the magazine as saying. However, Omid Scobie, a close friend of the Sussexes, later spoke up and said Meghan had been misunderstood. Her statement did not refer to Charles, but to her own father.
During their stay in the UK, Harry and Meghan are reportedly staying at their home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage. Harry's brother, Prince William, and his wife, Duchess Kate, live in Adelaide Cottage, just 15 minutes' walk away. Nevertheless, there are "no plans" for the brothers to meet, according to several British media outlets, citing insider information. The relationship between the two brothers is said to be clouded.
"I think it's likely that Catherine and William will try to avoid any contact with Harry and Meghan until they know the contents of Harry's memoirs and the Netflix documentary of the two," speculates royal expert Angela Levin in an interview with "The Sun". Harry and Meghan "missed their chance to be trustworthy". They would "use every conversation". In their statements about the royal family, they "exaggerated beyond measure" and were "rude", judges Levin.
After Harry and Meghan's scandalous interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey last year, Meghan also chatted unflatteringly about the royals in "The Cut" interview. Harry's memoirs and a previously announced Netflix documentary about the Sussexes are also eagerly awaited later this year.
Harry and Meghan will probably not visit the Queen on their current trip to Europe. Elizabeth II currently resides at her country estate, Balmoral, in Scotland. "No precautions" were taken there for a possible meeting between the queen and her grandson and his wife, writes the "Mirror".
The couple have a tight schedule during their European visit: they were due to attend the One Young World Summit in Manchester earlier this week. The two then travel to Germany. In Düsseldorf on Tuesday they will have an appointment to prepare for the Invictus Games 2023 in the North Rhine-Westphalian state capital. Then it's back to the UK. The WellChild Awards are taking place in London on Thursday.
It is the first time Harry has visited his homeland with his wife since the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June. Since their retirement, the two have lived with their children Archie (3) and Lilibet (1) in Montecito, California.
