It was a surprising show of unity when the Prince William and Kate Middleton were joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a walkabout outside Windsor Castle following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The united front came just two years after Harry and Meghan dramatically stepped down as working royals and a year on from the couple’s controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey.
As they greeted well wishers and inspected the floral tributes left outside the palace gates these differences appeared to be water under the bridge.
But this was not the case and according to one royal author the simmering tensions between both camps meant it was ‘one of the hardest things’ Kate has ever had to do.
Writing in his book – titled Our King – Robert Jobson revealed that the joint walkabout had been William’s but a source told the veteran royal correspondent that this show of unity was an ‘illusion’ with the Princess of Wales finding it particularly difficult.
Jobson wrote: ‘Catherine later admitted to a senior royal that, such was the ill feeling between the two couples, the joint walkabout was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do.’
Harry and Meghan then stayed in the UK for nearly three weeks until the late Queen’s funeral took place on September 19 2022.
During the ceremony an emotional Meghan was spotted wiping a tear from her eye as she waited outside Westminster Abbey alongside Queen Camilla and Kate.
Kate Middleton alongside Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle outside Windsor Castle following the death of Queen Elizabeth II
The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex inspect floral tribute outside WIndsor castle. Their appearance together was a surprising show of unity
She then joined other members of the family for a sombre procession behind the Queen’s coffin before taking her seat alongside Harry for the service.
Speaking recently on the second season of With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex spoke about how being away from Archie and Lillibet for almost three weeks made her ‘not well’.
Meghan made the candid remark during a discussion about parenthood with fashion designer and Queer Eye host Tan France.
‘The longest I went without being around our kids was almost three weeks. I was not well,’ Meghan said.
While it was not directly revealed which absence Meghan was talking about, in his memoir – Spare – Harry wrote that the Queen’s death and funeral was a ‘difficult’ time and the time he was separated from his children was ‘longer than we’d ever been’.
Meanwhile,following the so-called ‘peace summit’ in July, where images of Harry and Meghan’s press secretary meeting with King Charles’s communications secretary were revealed by The Mail On Sunday, the rift between the Sussexes and the Windsors does appear to be finally healing.
This month, King Charles III is expected to meet with Harry for the first time in 20 months.
The Duke of Sussex is expected in London on September 8 for the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death where he will also attend the WellChild Awards – a charity event he has avidly supported.
Royal author Robert Jobson wrote that the royal walkabout was ‘one of the hardest things’ the Princess of Wales has ever had to do
Meghan comforts Harry as they inspect floral tributes. The royal walkabout came just two years after Harry and Meghan dramatically stepped down as working royals and a year on from the couple’s controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey
Meghan with Camilla, Queen Consort, Prince George, the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte at the late Queen’s funeral
A US source told The Mirror there was now a ‘determination on both sides to make this happen’.
The source added: ‘Nobody is pretending the wider family issues have been resolved, but this is about beginning with Charles and Harry.
‘For the first time in a long time, there’s a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach.
‘Prince Harry’s team and the Palace have opened a line of communication, and there is every hope that father and son will see one another when the Duke returns to London in September.’
The source said there was a ‘feeling the time is right’ following 20 months apart and as the King continues his cancer treatment.
It is expected the encounter will be a ‘simple face-to-face conversation between a father and a son’ rather than a ‘grand gesture or set-piece meeting’.
‘Privacy and dignity’ have also been highlighted as priorities.
However, a reconciliation between the prince and his brother is said to have been ‘rejected out of hand’.
Meghan with designer Tan France on the latest season of With Love, Meghan
The last time the King saw his grandchildren was June 2022 when Harry and Meghan returned for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Harry’s trip on September 8 will mark his first visit since he failed to appeal the downgrading of his security protection in the UK.
Despite next week’s anticipated meeting, relations between Harry and the Prince of Wales are thought to remain frosty.
A separate source told the Mirror Prince William felt his brother had ‘repeatedly chosen public exposure over private resolution’ and expressed a determination not to be ‘dragged into the headlines every time there’s a new contract to promote’.
There was said to be an ‘issue of trust’ and perceived inability for Harry and Meghan to ‘keep things private’.
