The incident took place at the Sandringham Summit in January 2020
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have touched down in the UK alongside their two youngsters, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in what seems to be a far more substantial relocation than a fleeting family trip. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed at Birmingham Airport on August 26 following their flight from California.
This reported relocation carries particular weight as Archie and Lilibet are believed to have been registered at a British school, indicating the Sussexes are making arrangements for their offspring to spend substantially more time in the UK.
The announcement represents a marked shift for the Sussexes, who have resided chiefly in California since withdrawing as working royals in 2020. Among the last-ditch efforts to retain Harry and Meghan within the royal establishment was the now-notorious Sandringham Summit that same year.
Queen Elizabeth, Harry’s grandmother, organised the clandestine meeting with other royals to establish what the future held for the pair before their formal exit in March of that year.
In the Channel 5 documentary Megxit: Inside The Sandringham Summit, royal commentators discussed how photographers captured the late Prince Philip departing the summit in a Land Rover, having allegedly been left “appalled” by what had transpired.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton asserted: “Prince Philip is someone who doesn’t take fools gladly, and he was horrified that they’d come to a situation where the Royal Family were deciding whether to split up or not.”
Royal correspondent Emily Andrews remembered: “Philip was so angry he refused to even be there. I was told that he just couldn’t bring himself to see his grandson. He thought it was a huge dereliction of duty.”
After the summit, the Queen issued her own statement acknowledging that they “respect and understand” Meghan and Harry’s wish to carve out their own future, despite preferring that the Duke and Duchess remain as working royals.
Harry and Meghan then moved from the royal home of Frogmore Cottage to the sunnier climes of Montecito, California.
In the aftermath of their exit, Harry lost his honorary military positions, and they stopped using the His/Her Royal Highness titles.
A string of explosive revelations in television appearances and his memoir Spare caused relations with the rest of his family to deteriorate further.
Nevertheless, these tensions seem to have eased in recent months, with Harry reuniting with his father in July accompanied by his children and wife.