Prince Harry Unaware of Queen Elizabeth II's Health, Claims New Book
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were unaware of Queen Elizabeth II's health, as a new book unveils the extent to which they were kept in the dark
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were unaware of Queen Elizabeth II's failing health before her passing. Prior to receiving a call from his father, King Charles III, Harry, 39, had no knowledge of Buckingham Palace's preparations for the Queen's final moments and the subsequent transition to a new era of the monarchy, as revealed in an excerpt from Omid Scobie's forthcoming book, Endgame, featured in People magazine.
After receiving a phone call, Harry was instructed to promptly travel to Scotland.
On September 8, 2023, Buckingham Palace made an announcement stating the Queen's demise at the age of 96 while she was residing at Balmoral Estate. Within hours of the official announcement, Harry was seen arriving in Scotland.
Harry tried to contact his brother, Prince William, regarding potential travel arrangements but received no response. According to the excerpt, Harry was alone in his efforts while the rest of his family had already secured their flights. Eventually, Harry found a private charter option available from Luton Airport, which would cost him $37,000 and was a 40-minute drive from Frogmore, without traffic.
The queen passed away at 3:10 p.m. William received the news 40 minutes later, but Harry was unaware of the situation until his plane departed at 5:35 p.m.
The news of the queen's demise became public knowledge before Harry's plane could land. As soon as he touched down, Meghan, aged 42, had messaged him to inform him of her passing.
In his memoir called "Spare", Harry discussed his plans to travel to Scotland before his grandmother's passing. The memoir was published in January, and in it, he mentioned that Meghan wasn't considered welcome. According to Harry, Charles had mentioned that he was welcome at Balmoral but didn't want Meghan to accompany him. In response, Harry refused to accept Charles' nonsensical and disrespectful reasoning, stating, "Don't ever speak about my wife that way."
In Endgame, Scobie mentioned how Charles allegedly told his younger son to come alone, despite the fact that it had already been announced that Meghan would be joining him. Charles justified this by stating it was "protocol" and pointed out that William's wife, Princess Kate Middleton, also wouldn't be attending due to picking up their children from their first day at a new school. Reflecting on the queen's passing, Harry expressed appreciation for her enduring legacy in a statement.
“In commemorating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, and grieving her departure, we are all reminded of the profound influence she had on countless individuals through her unwavering dedication to service and responsibility,” he expressed. “She was universally revered and esteemed. Her unwavering poise and elegance remained steadfast throughout her existence.”
Harry included, in part, “I deeply treasure these moments we spent together, as well as the numerous other extraordinary instances in between. Your absence is already felt deeply, not only by us, but by people all around the globe.”
