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The prodigal royals—Prince Harry and Meghan Markle—returned to the United Kingdom for a brief visit on their way to The Netherlands for the Invictus Games. It was really more of a pit stop, actually, but it did reportedly include a brief meeting with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles for a chat. The Sussexes' catch-up with Charles and the queen was apparently an opportunity to clear up some of that family awkwardness that everyone and their mom on both sides of the Atlantic is still talking about.
According to a royal expert speaking to the Mirror, Meghan and Harry's short visit to Windsor was a chance to "clear the air" and an "olive branch."
"After everything that has gone on it must have taken a lot for Harry and Meghan to go to Windsor," royal commenter Ingrid Seward said.
The phrase "everything that has gone on," is doing quite a bit of heavy lifting here, as the royal rift only seems to have gotten more pronounced with time. What started with a lot of tabloid ugliness in the run-up to Meghan and Harry's wedding and eventually led to the couple's burn-it-all-down interview now seems to evolved into a constant atmosphere of low-simmering tension. Families, right?
Part of the reason for the Sussexes' long absence from the U.K. has to do with Prince Harry's lawsuit against the British government, who have not guaranteed the family police protection when they are in the country, per BBC.
We don't know what was said in the "secret" meeting, though it apparently did not include Prince William and Kate Middleton, which another royal expert, Robert Jobson, called "significant," according to the Mirror. "The fact that Charles agreed to see his youngest son and daughter-in-law a short notice shows what we all knew: that he of course loves them. The big question was over trust," Jobson said.
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Kathleen Walsh is a freelance writer and editor whose work focuses on culture, dating, and feminism and especially where all three intersect. Her writing can be found in the New York Times, InStyle, Teen Vogue, and more.
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