Prince Harry is believed to have immediately gone into quarantine, but COVID-19 rules will allow him to leave isolation early for his grandfather’s funeral
Prince Harry has reportedly arrived back in the UK and is in currently in quarantine ahead of the funeral of Prince Philip on Saturday.
He is said to have arrived already at Heathrow airport on a British Airways flight from Los Angeles at 1.15pm on Sunday afternoon.
The Sun has said that Prince Harry was met by police and security on the tarmac and was then driven away in a Range Rover. He is thought to have been driven to Kensington Palace, the newspaper had added.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed on Saturday that he would be making the journey, but Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, has been advised not to travel because she is heavily pregnant.
This comes after, since Harry and Meghan’s move to their Montecito mansion with one-year-old son Archie in July last year, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has dealt with calls recorded as phone requests, alarm activations and property crimes.
Meghan will not have time to complete her 10 days’ quarantine but the rules do allow people to temporarily leave where they are isolating on “compassionate grounds”, which includes funerals.
Harry will have needed to provide a negative test for the coronavirus before travelling and will have to be tested twice more in the UK, as well as stating the address where he is in quarantine.
According to the former prime minister Sir John Major, Harry’s trip to the UK is an “ideal opportunity” to mend the family rifts laid bare by the Oprah Winfrey interview, John Major was the guardian to Harry and William following their mother’s death.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral is also affected by COVID-19 rules that limit funerals in the UK to 30 people, meaning that there are tough decisions over who can attend.
Around 800 people were set to have been invited under planning that took place before the pandemic.
Boris Johnson has said that he will not go to free up space for family that includes the Queen’s four children and their spouses, as well as eight grandchildren.
A palace spokesman has said the royals would be following social distancing rules throughout, meaning staying two metres from people outside their household or support bubble.
It comes as the Queen described her husband’s death as leaving a “huge void in her life”, according to Prince Andrew.
Speaking on Sunday, he said the monarch was “feeling it, I think, probably more than everybody else” and called her “incredibly stoic”.
“But we – the family, the ones that are closer – are rallying round to make sure that we’re there to support her, and I know there is a huge amount of support not just for her but for everybody as we go through this enormous change,” the prince added.
This comes after Federal prosecutors in the United States had issued a formal request to Prince Andrew for an interview as part of their investigation into the now deceased convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein, prompting a frustrated response from the Duke of York’s legal team.
The Countess of Wessex, Prince Edward’s wife, described the duke’s death as “very peaceful”.
“It was right for him and, you know, it was so gentle. It was like someone took him by the hand, and then he went,” she said.
“Very, very peaceful and that’s all you want for somebody, isn’t it?”
Political leaders from across the UK are today returning early from the Easter break to pay respects to the duke.
MPs are back at the Commons a day early, the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments are being recalled, while the Northern Ireland Assembly will also see members pay tribute.
