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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle happened to be in the United Kingdom when Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022. Harry and Meghan spent more than a week in the UK grieving the loss of Harry’s grandmother, and they spent a good bit of time with Harry’s family despite not having communicated much with them in the couple years leading up to the queen’s death.

However, a royal author and friend of the couple’s has just revealed that Harry nearly missed the phone call regarding the queen’s death; Meghan encouraged him to answer it.

Queen Elizabeth causes Prince Harry to laugh while inspecting a line of soldiers in 2006
Queen Elizabeth causes Prince Harry to laugh while inspecting a line of soldiers in 2006 | Tim Graham/Getty Images

Prince Harry nearly ‘ignored’ the phone call regarding Queen Elizabeth II’s death

Queen Elizabeth was 96 when she died, meaning the Palace had likely been preparing for her death for quite some time. But on the day it happened, Harry wasn’t prepared — and nearly missed a phone call from his father that the queen was having her last moments, according to an excerpt from royal author — and friend of Harry and Meghan’s — Omid Scobie in his new book, Endgame.

“The Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was already planning for the Queen’s final hours … Until the duke’s phone started ringing. An unknown number. He usually ignored those,” part of Scobie’s book reads. “It was Meghan who prompted him to answer it, only to hear his father, King Charles, on the other line. He told Harry to make his way to Scotland immediately.”

Harry had to figure out how to get to Scotland on his own after his brother, Prince William, reportedly didn’t answer his message about traveling together. Scobie added that Charles called him again and asked that he come alone. Kate also did not attend.

Prince Harry appears to wipe tears while paying his respects to Queen Elizabeth at her funeral in 2022
Prince Harry appears to wipe tears while paying his respects to Queen Elizabeth at her funeral in 2022 | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
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Prince Harry has only been back to the UK a handful of times since Queen Elizabeth’s death

Harry and Meghan spent quite a bit of time over there in response to the queen’s death; the couple did a walkabout with Prince William and Kate Middleton, too, which the public was surprised to see but ultimately appreciated. However, once the dust settled on the queen’s death, Harry and Meghan hardly returned.

Meghan has not returned to the UK even once since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. However, Harry did make his way across the pond back in May 2023 to support his father at his coronation ceremony. Harry has also returned to the UK for various court appearances regarding ongoing lawsuits that stem from his time spent as a working royal.

Harry reportedly does still speak to his father, though things between him and William seem a bit more tense. While there is still plenty of tension between Harry and the rest of his family, there is a chance that Harry and Charles will be able to reconcile to the point of having a decent relationship. The jury is still out on whether Harry and William will ever be able to solve their problems, though both of them having young kids could be the one thing that brings them closer. They might want the kids to grow up having some kind of relationship with their cousins, though nothing of the sort has happened just yet.

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