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Prince Harry reveals details of secret catch-up with the Queen

Watch a clip of Harry's interview with US TV's Today

Source: YouTube/Today (US)

Prince Harry has opened up about his secret meeting with the Queen, sharing that he is still “making sure” his grandmother is “protected” from abroad.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle made a surprise stopover in Britain last week on their way to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands, visiting the royal’s grandmother for the first time in more than two years.

The visit, which remained secret until the pair were spotted by a group of pensioners heading to church on the Windsor Castle estate, marked the first time the Duchess of Sussex had visited Britain since moving to the US and ditching royal life in 2020.

Harry said a highlight was catching up with the Queen, who will turn 96 on Thursday.

“Meg and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her,” he told US TV’s Today show host Hoda Kotb in an interview that will air on Wednesday night.

“She was on great form. She always has a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure that she’s protected and has the right people around her.”

Today released the clip in a teaser ahead of Wednesday night’s broadcast.

The Queen tested positive for COVID-19 in February, adding to her growing list of health issues. Health and mobility issues have prevented her from attending numerous engagements recently, including skipping the royal family’s annual Easter celebrations.

The monarch recently admitted that the illness had left her “tired and exhausted” during a virtual engagement.

“It does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it? This horrible pandemic. It’s not a nice result.”

Harry and Meghan’s surprise visit has been viewed as a big step forward by commentators after tension between the Sussexes and the extended royal family.

The couple also reportedly caught up with Harry’s father, Prince Charles, for the first time in more than a year. They did not see Harry’s brother, Prince William, who was on a skiing holiday with his family.

The Sussexes’ children – two-year-old Archie and 10-month-old Lilibet – have remained behind in California.

The Queen and Prince Charles are yet to meet baby Lilibet, who has been given the Queen’s family nickname. They have not seen Archie since the months after his birth.

Harry and Meghan famously hit out at the royals in a March 2021 interview with talkshow host Oprah Winfrey.

Among other bombshell claims, they said an unnamed member of the royal family had been openly concerned about Archie’s skin tone before his birth.

The explosive interview prompted “crisis talks” within Buckingham Palace, which addressed the claims in a brief public statement.

Harry also skipped his grandfather Prince Philip’s memorial earlier this month, although he was present for the Duke of Edinburgh’s scaled-back funeral in April 2021 – minus Meghan – just weeks after the Winfrey interview aired.

But it seems things are looking up. In a sign of even more progress, Harry and Meghan have reportedly been invited to Buckingham Palace to help celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee in June.

In the Today clip, Harry told Kotb he was happy to return to Britain to visit but admitted that he now felt more at home in the Californian city of Santa Barbara.

“Home for me, for the time being, it’s in the States, and it feels that way as well,” he said.

Harry and Meghan purchased a sprawling $14 million mansion in the upmarket Santa Barbara neighbourhood of Montecito in June 2020.

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