As the fourth anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death approaches, the story about her final visit with Prince Harry has resurfaced.
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In his 2023 book Spare, Prince Harry reflected on the last time he and his family met with the queen shortly before her death.
“[My son] Archie making deep, chivalrous bows, his baby sister Lilibet cuddling the monarch’s shins. Sweetest children, Granny said, sounding bemused,” he wrote. “She’d expected them to be a bit more… American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious.”
Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. She was 96 years old.
Following his grandmother’s passing, Prince Harry issued a statement, declaring that he would always cherish the memories he shared with his grandmother.
“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings,” he wrote. “From my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren.”
He also wrote, “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honour my father in his new role as King Charles III.”
Prince Harry Previously Revealed How He First Heard About His Grandmother’s Passing
Also in his book, Prince Harry recalled how he first heard about his grandmother’s death.
While traveling alone to Scotland, Harry received a phone message from his wife, Meghan Markle. “When the plane started to descend, I saw that my phone lit up,” he said. “It was a message from Meg. ‘Call me when you get this.'”
“I looked at the BBC website,” he shared. “My grandmother had died. My father was King.”
Prince Harry was notably traveling to Balmoral, the Scottish estate, where Queen Elizabeth II had spent her final summer. His father, Charles, had told him not to bring Meghan. His sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, also did not go to Balmoral.
Prince Harry said the explanations for why his wife couldn’t be there “didn’t make any sense” and were “disrespectful.”
“I didn’t tolerate it,” the royal recalled. He then recounted telling his father, “Don’t even think about speaking about my wife like that.”
“Regretful, he stammered that he simply didn’t want it to fill up with people,” he continued. “Nobody’s wife was going, not even Kate, he told me, so Meg shouldn’t either. Then you should have started with that.”
Regarding his final conversation with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry wrote, “We touched on lots of issues. Her health of course, the chaos in Downing Street, the Braemar Games, which she was sorry not to have been able to attend because she wasn’t well. We also spoke about the devastating drought. Meg and I were staying at Frogmore and the lawn was in a really bad state.”
“‘It’s like my head, granny, full of bald spots and brown patches!'” he recalled telling her. “She burst out laughing. I told her to take care of herself and that I hoped we’d see each other soon.”