Harry and Meghan pay surprise visit to Queen on way to Invictus Games

This will be Meghan's first time on British soil since July 2020

After causing a stir by not attending Prince Phillip’s memorial service earlier this month, a spokesperson for the couple confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan visited the Queen at Windsor Castle on their way to the Invictus Games. 

Prince Harry has not been back in the UK since July last year, while Meghan has not been back in the country since she joined her husband for the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana in July 2020.

Prince Harry paid a visit to his 95-year-old grandmother on his way to the Hague in the Netherlands ahead of the games, founded by the Duke to give wounded military veterans the challenge of competing in a Paralympic-style sporting event. 

The couple have been joined by a film crew as part of their appearance at the games, to collect footage for a new Netflix series called The Heart of Invictus. 

Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine, told the BBC that their fly-by UK visit will be "a very welcome if long overdue move". 

The Duke has previously stated that he would have liked to have visited sooner but has been concerned about the security risk it may entail, after a government decision last year to no longer provide police protection for the couple. 

Prince Harry offered to pay for his own protection, but the government refused to back down on their ruling, prompting Harry to bring a court challenge against the decision in March. 

The couple’s legal representative said that the Duke wants to bring his children to visit, but he and his family are “unable to return to his home” because it is too dangerous without police protection.

However, Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection at Scotland Yard, told PA Media this week that: “This country has determined he is no longer at risk. That may or may not be true, but people far better qualified than I am now can make that decision and they never make it lightly.”