The last to arrive and the first to leave.
Why did this royal leave Scotland so soon after the queen's death?
The world is reeling following the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II. The beloved monarch
passed away peacefully at Balmoral, her summer home in Scotland, on September 8,
the royal family announced. Shortly after meeting the new British Prime Minister,
Liz Truss, the queen's spokesperson revealed,
"Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen's doctors are concerned for Her
Majesty's health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision.
The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral."
A planned virtual meeting of the Privy Council was subsequently canceled.
Soon after, several senior members of the royal family, including Charles and William,
began making their way to Scotland. The Express also reported that a depressed-looking Prince
Harry was photographed in transit to Balmoral. The Duke of Sussex was coincidentally in the UK,
alongside wife Meghan Markle, when news of the queen's rapidly deteriorating health
was announced. Commentators were thrilled to see the royal defector, who currently has a
complicated relationship with his famous family, rallying in Her Majesty's time of need. Sadly,
it doesn't look as though Prince Harry stuck around in Scotland for long.
The Duke of Sussex was snapped boarding a plane bound for London Heathrow
from Aberdeen airport, less than a day after mourning the passing of Queen Elizabeth II,
alongside his father and other family members. The Daily Mail reports that the Duke of Sussex,
who was glimpsed comforting an airport worker who offered her condolences, is now planning
to stick around for another ten days until his grandmother's state funeral takes place.
"The death of Her Majesty the queen is a huge shock to the nation."
The prince, who traveled to Scotland without his wife Meghan, was the last one to arrive at
Her Majesty's summer home and the first to leave. Sadly, Harry didn't make it
to Balmoral in time to say his goodbyes to his grandmother, arriving at around 8 p.m.,
which was after the public had learned the news. Just over twelve hours later,
a downbeat Harry was seen waiting to be driven away from the family home. He boarded his flight
to London at 10 a.m. on September 9, reportedly heading back down south to be with Meghan.
Although the Sussexes' relationship with the royal family has been strained for quite some time,
the couple's children may be acquiring new titles. According to The Guardian,
the queen's death technically means that Meghan and Harry's kids will become
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. During her interview with Oprah Winfrey,
Meghan previously insinuated that Archie was denied a title due to the color of his skin.
While Charles's ascension to the throne could mean that Archie will finally become a prince,
the new king has long talked about wanting to slim down the monarchy, so nothing is certain.
It was heartening to see Prince Harry rallying alongside the rest of the royal family to be
by Queen Elizabeth's side. But anybody hoping the strained relationship between
the warring family members is now fixed will be sorely disappointed. Harry's bombshell
memoir still hasn't come out yet, with the book expected to take aim at several senior royals,
including his father's second wife and the new Queen Consort, Camilla Parker Bowles.
Meanwhile, Meghan has already pre-recorded a number of episodes of her "Archetypes"
podcast for Spotify, which could prove to be problematic once released to the world.
Moreover, it's worth noting the queen was known for bringing the Duke of Sussex and his brother
and father together, and without the monarch, it may prove difficult to bridge the gap.
However, Meghan and Harry could be useful to King Charles, as royal author Tina Brown told The Sun,
"My guess is Charles is really going to want them back — sort of need them back
actually — because Harry and Meghan were huge assets to the whole royal repertoire
quite frankly [...] They had a young appeal that was very, very potent in the country."
It remains to be seen what will happen to Meghan and Harry, but it's safe to assume
there's still a lot of work to be done to fix their relationship with the royal family.