Prince Philip death: Harry will get NO 'special treatment', quarantining at Frogmore Cottage before funeral
Prince Harry, who returned to the UK for the first time in over a year to attend his grandfather Prince Philip's funeral, is reportedly staying at his Frogmore Cottage home in Windsor, the house where he, wife Meghan Markle and son Archie lived before they left the UK.
As per royal experts, however, his return has presented logistical challenges, and that the Duke of Sussex will have to face these challenges instead of gaining "diplomatic immunity" from them. On ITV's ‘Royal Rota’ podcast, host Chris Ship told listeners, "Harry will have to do the whole quarantine thing. We thought that he could have gotten away with some diplomatic immunity. But I think he isn't because of all the messaging around this. They don't want to be seen to be getting any special treatment."
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Co-host Lizzie Robinson said, "We know that he's going to fall in line with Covid protocols. So one would imagine that he would come over, do the quarantine and test to be released in time for the funeral." Following that, Ship explained, "If you take two tests, one on arrival and one on day five, and they're both negative, you do get released from quarantine. So he should, all things being well, be released for the funeral on Saturday."
Prince Philip died on April 9 at the age of 99. His funeral is scheduled to take place on April 17. Harry is reported to have been "really upset" that he could not say goodbye to his grandfather before his passing. According to a source close to Harry, he feels guilty.
After Philip’s death, a source said: "Harry feels guilty for not being there to say goodbye to Prince Philip in person. The Queen wants Harry to be there. Harry is hopeful that he’ll be able to return home to honor his grandfather, who he had a close bond with."
While Harry is already in the UK, his wife Meghan will not be attending the funeral. Meghan, who is pregnant with a baby girl, will remain in the US on their doctor's advice. A source said that Meghan made “every effort” to travel but didn’t receive medical clearance from her physician.
As per royal biographer Gyles Brandreth, Prince Philip was not on board with Prince Harry and Meghan’s controversial tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. A source close to Philip told the biographer that “he thought Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey was 'madness' and 'no good would come of it.” The biographer added that he was not surprised “because that is exactly how he described to me the earlier personal TV interviews given by Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, back in the 1990s.”
Harry “risks permanent royal divorce” if he returns home unapologetic, royal expert and biographer Tom Bower said. He added that Harry may never heal the rift with other royal family members if he is unapologetic at Prince Philip's funeral.