Prince Harry will fly back to the United States shortly after the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip – because he does not want to be separated too much from his pregnant wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex does not intend to spend much time in Britain after Saturday’s service.
His wife, who is expecting her baby in early summer, was forbidden to accompany him on a doctor’s order. And we’re told that Harry will hurry back to California to reunite with Markle and their young son Archie.
Although it is not known what visa Harry has – or whether he has applied for his green card – according to current guidelines, he will have to apply for an exception of national interest to travel home to the funeral, a top immigration lawyer told us. However, there are exceptions for those who have married American citizens.
He will also have to follow COVID rules when he returns to the United States. Current guidelines state that all visitors to the country must provide a negative test within three days of travel.
This is the first time Harry has returned to the UK since he and Markle gave up their royal life last year. And it will be the first time he has seen his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, his father Prince Charles, Prince William’s brother, sister-in-law Kate Middleton and the rest of his family since March last year.
Markle desperately wanted to join her husband and made every effort to get the trip signed, sources told us. The fact that she is not there means that Harry has to face everyone after the couple made claims about their separation from the royal family at Oprah Winfrey last month.
During the interview, Harry told Winfrey that, despite everyone, he still has great affection for his brother.
“As I said earlier, I love William to pieces,” he said. “We went through hell together and we have a common experience, but we are on different paths.”
Harry is currently in quarantine at Sussexes’ house, Windsor, Frogmore Cottage, where his cousin Eugenie and her family live. He flew to Heathrow Airport in London on a scheduled British Airways flight – accompanied by security – on Sunday.
A representative for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment.