Prince Harry delivered an eight-word rebuke to his father after being told not to bring Meghan Markle to Balmoral Castle on the day the late Queen Elizabeth II died, his memoir reveals.
The Duke of Sussex was not happy about how the conversation went, according to his book Spare. On September 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away at Balmoral Castle. Before her death was announced, members of the Royal Family were seen travelling to Scotland in the hope of saying goodbye to the monarch.
Tense phone call recalled
Prince Harry, who wanted his wife Meghan to join him, was urged to make his way to Balmoral but was told not to bring her. The reason for this was unclear, however Harry recalled in his memoir that he ended up having some tense words with his father about this.
Recalling the day of his grandmother's death in Spare, Harry wrote that he found out about her passing when his flight landed in Scotland over three hours after she died. He then mentioned how he was advised over the phone by his father not to bring Meghan with him to Balmoral Castle, which made Harry angry.
Eight-word response
In his memoir, the duke said he told his father in a blistering eight-word response: "Don't ever speak about my wife that way".
It is not known exactly what was said during the phone call, as the King has never publicly addressed it. Harry has also never gone into specific details about the conversation.
Aftermath and later visits
However, the duke did listen to his father and did not bring his wife up to Balmoral on the day of the late Queen's passing. Meghan did later attend the funeral in London, 11 days later, which was reportedly allowed. Meghan, like the rest of the Royal Family, dressed in all-black for the occasion and looked emotional throughout the day's events.
Since the funeral in 2022, Meghan has not been pictured on UK soil. It is believed she had not visited the UK again until in July 2026, when she flew to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to join Prince Harry. She made no public appearances during this visit.
