Where will Harry stay in UK for Prince Philip's funeral? Reports say he will quarantine at Nottingham Cottage
Prince Harry arrived in the UK for the first time in over a year after leaving the palace and stepping down from senior royal duties to start a new life with his wife Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex was seen at Heathrow airport on Sunday, April 11, after his grandfather, Prince Philip, died on Friday, April 9. Prince Philip is currently lying at rest at Windsor Castle.
As per reports, though the Sussexes left Britain for the US, they are still owners of Frogmore Cottage in the Queen's Windsor estate. But since they now live in Montecito, California, along with their son Archie, Frogmore Cottage has been given to Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. “Eugenie and Harry have always been close and they chat privately all the time,” a source earlier told HELLO! “It was Harry who suggested she and Jack could use Frogmore Cottage because it is much bigger than their cottage at Kensington Palace. It is a case of one family member reaching out to another.”
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Now the question arises, where will Harry live while in the UK? A source told express.co.uk that after leaving Heathrow airport, they saw Harry “getting into an escorted car”. The report also added that he was seen going directly to Nottingham Cottage, where he will quarantine before attending Philip’s funeral on Saturday, April 17. The quarantine time in the UK is of 10 days, but Harry would attend the event on "compassionate" grounds. The rule on the government's website says, “You can leave your place of self-isolation in limited circumstances, including on compassionate grounds. This includes attending a funeral of a household member, a close family member or a friend (if neither household member or close family member can attend the funeral). You must continue to self-isolate at all other times.”
Earlier HELLO! reported that chances are that Harry could choose to stay with his cousin Eugenie, but there is another possibility of him moving to Kensington Palace and staying at his former residence, Nottingham Cottage, where he and Meghan used to live before. The former actress, who will soon deliver a baby girl, and her son Archie did not fly with the 36-year-old to the UK. However, after the death of the eldest member of the royal family, the couple paid their tribute on their website, Archewell. “In loving memory of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh 1921-2021. Thank you for your service – you will be greatly missed,” their tribute stated.
Meanwhile, another report by Gloucestershire Live earlier stated that Harry would be staying at Highgrove House, where he might try to reach out to Prince Charles. Also, he could try to heal the differences with his elder brother, Prince William, at Highgrove House, where they spent their childhood together. Some sources have even speculated that the death of Prince Philip could make way for reconciliation.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, told Times Radio, “I think there might be a bit of consolation in it for the royal family actually because it just gives them a chance to be close and to have a comparative bit of privacy. Obviously, the whole ceremony will be watched by everybody but you think of the complexities of the dynamics in that family and we have to think of Harry, so far away. I'm sure he'll come but not being, the whole time, in the public eye might just help. Many a family gather and get over tension and broken relationships at the time of a funeral. Something very profound unites them all again. And that would be true for this family, I'm sure.”
English journalist Penny Junor said, “My hope is that if something good can come out of the Duke's death it will be that it brings the family together. But clearly, there is a lot of hurt there on all sides, and I imagine they will all be feeling apprehensive about seeing one another again. With luck, their desire to support the Queen and pull together for her sake, which I am sure is what the Duke would have wanted, will win the day.”