LONDON – Warring brothers Prince William and Prince Harry and their wives Kate and Meghan reunited on Saturday to pay floral tributes to Queen Elizabeth II and congratulate well-wishers.
Since the Queen’s death at the age of 96 on Thursday, the two couples, all dressed in mournful black, have been staring together at the growing fringes of flowers left at the gates of Windsor Castle.
William and Harry, Kate and Meghan were once dubbed the “Fab Four”, with the hope that together they could secure the monarchy’s appeal for younger generations.
But relations between them soured soon after former British army captain Harry’s marriage to Meghan in Windsor in 2018.
The sight of two couples together – even if they are separated to talk and shake hands with different people – will spark rumors of a private reconciliation.
Harry, 37, who has publicly admitted that he and his brother were “on separate paths”, announced that he and Meghan, 41, were leaving royal life in early 2020.
Britain’s Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales and Britain’s Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, look at wreaths for the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, September 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meisner)
The two couples were last seen in 2020 at the Commonwealth Day Service in Westminster Abbey just days before their blustery announcement.
clean olive branch
Harry and Meghan moved to the United States, from where they have repeatedly criticized life at the institution, including claims of racism. Meghan is of mixed race heritage.
This prompted 40-year-old William to angrily insist that “we are not very much a racist family.”
Harry also claimed that William, now the heir to the throne after the death of his grandmother, and his father Charles, the new king, were trapped in a hidden institution.
But Charles offered an explanation as a clear olive branch to his self-exiled son, who now lives in California and is trying to reinvent himself as a welfare and social justice advocate.
In his first speech as king on Friday, Charles, 73, spoke of his love for his second son and daughter-in-law.
Britain’s King Charles III in front of members of the Privy Council in the Throne Room during the Council of Accession at St James’s Palace, London, on September 10, 2022, where he is formally proclaimed monarch. (Victoria Jones/Pool Photo via AP)
The relationship between the brothers – from Charles’ first marriage to Princess Diana – was markedly frosty when they reunited last year to unveil a statue of their mother.
They did not meet during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
Harry and Meghan are staying at the Windsor Estate’s Frogmore Cottage, which is just a short walk from William and Kate’s new home, Adelaide Cottage.
British media said the couple had no plans to meet until the Queen’s death on Thursday, despite their closeness.
Harry and Meghan were initially on a whistle-stop tour, attending two charity events in the UK and the other in Germany for the former Invictus Games for disabled veterans.
But he is now expected to stop for the Queen’s funeral on 19 September at Westminster Abbey in London.