Prince Harry says it was ‘really nice to catch up’ with his grandmother the Queen after his secret trip to the UK with Meghan Markle last week.
The Duke of Sussex praised the monarch’s ‘great sense of humour’ and said she was was on ‘great form’.
After a tumultuous few years for the Royal Family which saw relationships being strained, Harry and Meghan appear to be patching things up with the palace.
Last week the pair embarked on their first trip to Europe together in two years to watch the Invictus Games, where they have been followed around by a Netflix documentary crew.
Their secret stop-off at Windsor Castle on Thursday was seen as an olive branch which could pave the way for the couple to return to the UK for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
‘Being with her, it was great. It was just so nice to see her, she’s on great form,’ Harry told NBC Today presenter Hoda Kotb.
‘She’s always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure she’s protected and got the right people around her.
‘Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her.’
Harry’s interview was previewed on NBC last night and will be shown in full from 12pm BST (7am Eastern Time).
In it, Harry also says: ‘Home for me now, for the time being, is in the States and it feels that way as well. We’ve been welcomed with open arms and we have such a great community up in Santa Barbara.’
After their shocking decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020, Meghan and Harry initially moved to Vancouver Island, Canada.
They eventually settled down in Montecito, California, having said they both want their own personal and financial freedom.
Harry’s interview comes right before the Queen celebrates her 96th birthday tomorrow.
It has also been just over a year since the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The palace is likely to be concerned that Harry could make further embarrassing claims about the Royal Family after his and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The CBS special sent shockwaves through the British monarchy, as the couple accused an unnamed member of the family of raising ‘concerns’ over what colour their first-born son Archie’s skin would be.
Meghan also said she had suicidal thoughts as she struggled with the pressure of being a senior royal, and claimed she couldn’t get any help from Buckingham Palace.
She also suggested Archie was not given the title of prince because he is mixed-race – but royal experts have said this was instead due to a specific part of royal protocol.
Meghan also said she received no help from the palace in shutting down rumours that she made Kate Middleton cry during a bridesmaid dress fitting, claiming it was actually the other way round.
All of this strained Harry’s relationship with his family, particularly with his father Prince Charles and brother Prince William.
He also faced criticism for not attending Prince Philip’s memorial service last month at Westminster Abbey.
The Duke is currently in the midst of a court battle with the Home Office over its refusal to provide police protection.
A promotion for this week’s NBC Today interview, said Harry will also discuss fatherhood and life with his and Meghan’s two children, Archie, two, and 10-month-old Lilibet.
Meghan is unlikely to appear in the interview and has already left the Netherlands to be with her children.
She told a military veteran at the Invictus Games that this was the longest time she had been away from them since she was born.
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