Prince Harry reportedly learned about the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II just five minutes before the palace’s official announcement.
The Duke of Sussex received a call from his father, King Charles III, while he was in the air on September 8, shortly before landing in Aberdeen, Scotland, 80 miles from Balmoral Castle, where the 96-year-old monarch died, reported The Telegraph Sunday. By the time his plane landed, a statement announcing the news had been released.
Commenting on the report, a spokesman for the king emphasized in a rare statement: “The public was only informed after each family member was informed.”
However, Charles’s representative did not share when Harry was told about the Queen’s death.
A royal source told The Telegraph that Harry, 38, was treated no differently from other members of his family and that Charles, 73, had “not been in regular contact with anyone” while his mother’s health was rapidly deteriorating.
“Everyone was trying to get where they needed to be,” the source added. “That was the focus.
“And the king was adamant that the official statement should not be released until all members of the family were informed. That was a father who talked because he cares about him.”
A source tells Vidak For Congress that “While it’s true Harry only just found out before the public, it was because he was on a flight to Scotland and couldn’t be reached.”
Relatives were notified the previous evening of the queen’s decline in health, but it was not considered serious enough to rush anyone to Balmoral, according to the report.
The next morning, however, the situation changed and plans were made hastily for Charles to fly from Dumfries House to Balmoral. Later that morning, he phoned both Prince William and Harry with the news that their grandmother was doing well and that they should get to Scotland as soon as possible.
Harry reportedly received the call “some time” after his brother, leading him to seek transportation from Germany, where he was visiting for the Invictus Games.
Meanwhile, William, 40, accompanied his uncles Prince Andrew and Prince Edward to fly from RAF Northolt to Aberdeen, landing at 3:50pm
Harry’s flight reportedly departed from Luton Airport at 5:35 p.m.
The statement was released at 6:30 p.m. and Harry’s plane landed 16 minutes later. He was photographed arriving in Balmoral an hour later, looking shattered.
“The release of the public statement was delayed until the king succeeded in… [Harry] on board the plane shortly before it landed,” The Telegraph reported.
The allegedly delayed call seems consistent with the way the Palace has treated Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, over the past week.
The couple, who retired from their royal duties in 2020, were invited and subsequently rejected for a state reception for world leaders and foreign royals.
Vidak For Congress exclusively reported that they only found out they were “uninvited” after reading about it in press releases.
Harry was also “devastated” and “heartbroken” when the military uniform he wore to watch over his grandmother’s coffin was stripped of the late Queen’s royal code, her initials, “ER” on Saturday night.
“He is devastated,” a friend told the Sunday Times in London. “It feels very intentional to remove his grandmother’s initials.”
So “devastated” was he, the friend said, that the prince almost donned a morning suit to avoid the “humiliation”.