Prince Harry flies back to the US shortly after the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip – as he does not want to be separated from his pregnant wife Meghan Markle for too long.
The Duke of Sussex has no plans to spend a long time in the UK after the service on Saturday.
His wife, who is expecting their baby daughter in early summer, was banned from accompanying him on a doctor’s order. And we’re told that Harry will rush back to California to reunite with Markle and their young son Archie.
Although according to current guidelines it is not known on what visa Harry is and whether he applied for his Green Card, he would have to apply for an exception on national interest to travel home for the funeral, an immigration lawyer told us . However, there are also exceptions to those who are married to U.S. citizens.
He will also have to comply with the COVID rules when he returns to the US. Current guidelines stipulate that all visitors to the country must take a negative test within three days of the trip.
This is the first time Harry has returned to the UK since he and Markle ended their royal lives last year. And this is the first time he has seen his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, his father Prince Charles, brother Prince William, sister-in-law Kate Middleton and the rest of his family since March last year.
Markle desperately wanted to join her husband and put everything in place to sign off on the trip, sources told us. The fact that she’s not there means Harry has to brave them alone after the couple bombed over their split from the royal family to Oprah Winfrey last month.
During the interview, Harry told Winfrey that despite everything, he still has a great love for his brother.
“Like I said before, I love William,” he said. “We went through hell together and we have a shared experience, but we are on different paths.”
Harry is currently attending the Sussexes home in Windsor, Frogmore Cottage, where his cousin Eugenie and her family live. He flew on a scheduled flight from British Airways – accompanied by safety – to Heathrow Airport in London on Sunday.
A rep for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment.