Prince Harry tells Meghan Markle: ‘I must see my family’

The country took a sharp intake of breath a fortnight ago, when the Palace announced the Queen had spent the night in hospital undergoing “preliminary investigations” for an unspecified (non-COVID-related) ailment.

The 95 year old returned to Windsor after her overnight stay and was said to be in “good spirits”, but there’s no denying it rattled royal fans. Even more concerned for Her Majesty’s health, however, were her family. And we’re told that Prince Harry, in particular, feels a little helpless being so far away from his beloved grandmother, as he now lives in America with wife Meghan Markle and their two children.

“Harry is worried sick about the Queen’s rapidly declining health and he’s planning to head back to England to be by her side, even if it means spending the holidays apart from Meghan,” an insider reveals to heat. “He’s been in touch with her as often as he can and sent messages and care packages, but that’s nowhere near enough contact for his liking and he feels it’s his duty to fly to her side.”

The Queen returned to royal duties not long after her hospital stay, opting to carry them out virtually, via video conference. It was also confirmed she would not attend the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, but would instead deliver her address in a recorded video message. And while Harry is said to be in “panic mode” and keen to visit as quickly as possible, we’re told he’s not expecting Meghan to accompany him.

“The last thing he wants is to impose this trip on Meghan, who is highly unlikely to fly with him and has made her position clear: that the holidays will be spent in California,” claims our source. “But Harry’s now leaning towards Christmas with his grandmother, even if it means being parted from Meghan and the kids. He figures there won’t be many more opportunities to see her and feels terrible about being 6,000 miles away.”

In recent months, Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, have been accused of upsetting the Queen by lashing out at the royal family and their alleged treatment of the couple. But Harry has always maintained he has a good relationship with his grandmother, and the couple named their daughter Lilibet after her, reportedly speaking to her personally to ask permission.

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“For all his grievances with the royal family as a whole, Harry has been very clear that he adores his grandmother and misses her terribly,” our source explains. “It makes him angry when people try to paint him as disrespectful or thoughtless towards her in any way, since his issues have been with other members of the monarchy. But despite all the drama in recent years, Harry’s respect and love for the Queen has never wavered and he’s adamant that will remain the case.”

But with two children at home – Archie, two, and four-month-old Lilibet – it seems Meghan is reluctant to travel to the UK, especially around Christmas.

“Meghan understands entirely that these are worrying times with the Queen’s health in such a precarious state, even though the Palace has reassured everyone that she is in excellent condition for her age and coping fine since her hospital treatment. If Harry decides to head home for the holidays, Meghan understands why he’d go, but it won’t be easy for her and she is not inclined to join him.”

Our source continues, “There’s just too much mud under the bridge between Meghan and the royals right now. She needs to think long and hard before taking the plunge into spending any length of time with them. That’s a tough pill for Harry to swallow, but he needs to make a choice with everybody’s interests at heart, not just Meghan. It weighs heavy on his shoulders that he hasn’t been back to England in the longest time for anything other than a few days, and even then, it’s been awkward and tense.”

All this comes just a couple of weeks after Thomas Markle spoke on Good Morning Britain about Harry, Meghan, and their kids. In an appearance that garnered multiple complaints, Meghan’s father argued for his right to see his grandchildren, promising his TV interviews wouldn’t stop. “I’ve made it quite clear – until I hear from [Meghan], until she does speak to me, I’ll continue to do this.”

During the controversial interview, he also hit out at his son-in-law, saying, “I think Harry has abandoned the Queen, the royal family, the British people and the Army. He’s abandoned them all.”

Meghan has so far ignored the claims from her father, instead last week appearing in a YouTube video reading her book, The Bench. Introducing herself as “Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex”, she read from the book, which features multiple depictions of fathers and sons, including Prince Harry and Archie. The video began with the book’s dedication, “For the man and the boy who make my heart go pump-pump.”

While Harry has been back to the UK on several occasions – most recently to unveil a statue of his late mother Diana in July – Meghan has not left the US for two years. Members of the royal family are yet to meet Lilibet and won’t have seen Archie in person since he was a baby.

After news about the Queen’s health broke, royal fans took to Twitter to urge Harry to come home and visit her, with one writing, “She is slowing down. He will regret it.”

Our source explains what significance it would have, were Harry to return to the UK. “By making this gesture and coming back by himself, it would be a huge olive branch that would go a long way towards showing his relatives he’s not altogether turned his back on them.”

But for now, it seems a joint trip back to British shores with his wife and children in tow is off the table. “Meghan has told him that this is not the time – there’s too much to do in LA right now. Harry likes his new life over in America, but he understandably feels frustrated at times. He was hoping to bring the children back to the UK sooner than now and worries they’re running out of time to bond with the Queen, as well as his other friends and loved ones. Meghan has her reasons for wanting to stay in the US, but of course she won’t stand in the way of Harry seeing his grandmother. However, being alone at Christmas with the kids would be difficult, especially because her ears would be burning, imagining what people might be saying behind her back.”

Read more in the latest issue of heat magazine – OUT NOW.