Prince Harry orchestrated an 'ingenious decoy' to smuggle his family into Highgrove for a highly anticipated meeting with King Charles, according to a new report. A source compared the clandestine operation to the Battle of Waterloo.
Decoy Operation Details
Harry, accompanied by Meghan Markle and their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, arrived at the monarch's country residence on Friday. The meeting occurred days after Harry suffered embarrassment in court when his allegations of illegal newsgathering against the Daily Mail's proprietor were dismissed. It also followed a dispute over his use of Buckingham Palace during his UK visit to promote next year's Invictus Games.
Author Tina Brown, a biographer of Harry's mother Princess Diana, revealed how the family entered Highgrove undetected. Harry utilized a Chanel-hosted lunch at the Cotswolds property as a distraction, enabling a vehicle carrying the Sussex family to slip in 'amongst the stream of arriving vehicles,' Brown wrote in her Substack. Once through the gates, the car drew up at a separate entrance, away from other guests.
Comparison to Waterloo
Brown quoted a lunch attendee who said: 'It was like being at Waterloo, but the wrong end of Waterloo.' The reference is to the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, where Napoleon launched a diversionary assault on Hougoumont to draw British troops from Wellington's main force. The attacks were repelled without requiring reinforcements, though some historians argue the maneuver was not purely diversionary.
Brown revealed that Meghan and the children had been in Portugal, where the family is rumored to own a holiday retreat, before traveling to the UK. She noted that it 'didn't seem to occur to Harry' that he could bring his children to the UK 'undetected' and that 'secret, safe visits, conducted without all the whirling swords, are perfectly manageable.'
Aftermath and Reactions
Insiders indicated Harry left the meeting in good spirits, but some royal household members are reportedly furious with King Charles for acquiescing to what they consider emotional blackmail.
