Prince Harry visited the grave of his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, at St George’s Chapel in Windsor shortly after landing at Heathrow Airport on the first day of a four-day visit to the United Kingdom.
The Duke of Sussex touched down in London alone on Monday while his wife, Meghan, and their two children remained in California. Harry laid a wreath and flowers during a private visit to the chapel, which falls on the third anniversary of the queen’s death, and later planned to travel to London for a charity engagement.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether Harry would meet his father, King Charles III, during the trip. The two last met in February 2024 after the king’s cancer diagnosis, and palace officials have not disclosed any arrangements for a reunion while the king undergoes treatment in London this week. The king has spent much of the summer in Scotland at Balmoral and Birkhall.
Harry’s visit is his longest solo trip to Britain since 2022, when he and Meghan returned after the queen’s death. He was last in the UK in April for a High Court hearing in which a judge dismissed his legal challenge over the level of police protection he receives while in Britain. In that ruling, Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said the duke’s “sense of grievance” did not “translate into a legal argument.” Despite the court outcome, Harry was seen being escorted from Heathrow by a Metropolitan Police officer linked to the Royalty and Specialist Protection squad, an indication he is receiving bespoke police protection during the visit.
The duke’s schedule includes well-established charitable work. He is due to appear at the WellChild Awards in London, a charity of which he has been patron for 17 years, where he was expected to present an award. On Tuesday he will visit the Community Recording Studio in Nottingham to announce a donation to Children in Need aimed at supporting work tackling violence among young people. Further engagements later in the visit are scheduled with the Invictus Games and the Diana Award.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were carrying out a separate engagement on Monday at the National Federation of Women’s Institutes in Sunningdale, Berkshire, roughly 7.4 miles from Windsor Castle — a drive of about 16 minutes. The proximity underscored how members of the royal family were undertaking public duties in close geographical range without an official joint appearance.
Reports in the British press have suggested a meeting between Harry and the king is possible but not confirmed. The Mail on Sunday reported that the duke would make himself available if an invitation were extended; the palace has not confirmed any such plan. Closely held communications among senior royal aides and private secretaries typically determine whether and when private family meetings occur, and officials have not provided a timeframe for any discussion.
Harry’s return comes amid a gradual thaw in public tensions within the family after a series of high-profile departures and public disclosures following his and Meghan’s move to California in 2020. The duke’s current itinerary focuses on long-standing philanthropic commitments, and his team has framed the trip as centred on those engagements rather than family reconciliation.
The visit will run through Thursday and includes public and private appearances tied to charities with which Harry has been associated for years. Officials said security arrangements for the duke would be handled in line with legal and operational measures in place for visiting members of the royal family and other protected persons.