The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s reunion with the Queen could pave the way for the couple to return to the UK for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, according to a royal expert.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stopped off at Windsor Castle to meet the monarch and Prince Charles while on their way to the Netherlands for the launch of the Invictus Games.
Doubt has loomed over whether the couple will join the Royal Family for the jubilee festivities in June after they were missing from a memorial service to honour Prince Philip last month.
Harry has been vocal about fears for his family in the UK after a Home Office decision to prevent him from paying for police protection – a move he is currently seeking a judicial review of.
But it’s believed the couple’s private meeting with the Queen shows the monarch is keen to end the strained relations that led to them stepping down as senior royals.
‘Their meeting at Windsor on Thursday shows the olive branch has been offered to them and she will be hoping they accept it,’ royal author Ingrid Seward told the Telegraph.
‘She wants to present a united family on an occasion like the jubilee, because an occasion like that certainly won’t happen again.’
Prince Charles is said to be apprehensive about their possible involvement, fearing it could overshadow his mother’s big celebration.
A source ‘close to’ the future King told the Daily Mail there were fears it could ‘create a circus’.
Heavy security at the huge royal event may be a big factor in persuading the Sussexes to attend.
If they did, it would be the first time both of them have appeared together with the Royal Family since moving abroad and doing their explosive Oprah interview.
Meghan has never returned and Harry’s family has never met the couple’s youngest child Lilibet.
It’s thought Prince William was unwilling to interrupt his family holiday to meet his brother and sister-in-law this week and hasn’t spoken to them ‘in months’.
A source said: ‘There is a lot of ground to cover with William and Harry. ‘I do think and hope they will be reconciled but it may take some time.’
Harry last visited the UK to unveil a statue of his mother Princess Diana alongside his brother Prince William at Kensington Palace last summer.
He previously returned for the funeral of his grandfather Prince Philip.
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