Prince Harry has revealed the final words he said to his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, when he arrived at her deathbed hours after she died.
The British monarch sadly passed away at the age of 96 in September at her home in Balmoral, Scotland.
In his upcoming memoir Spare, which will be released on January 10, the Duke of Sussex says he whispered to his grandmother that he “hoped she would be happy” and that she would be with his grandfather, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021.
Prince Harry also told her that he “admired her for having fulfilled her duties until the very end.”
The 38-year-old said he walked out of his late grandmother’s room at Balmoral Castle and called his wife Meghan Markle to let her know he arrived safely.
As previously reported, Harry arrived at Balmoral Castle hours after the Queen had died at the age of 96 on September 8.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had returned to the UK in September to attend a string of charity events when the world caught wind of the late monarch’s illness, and Harry desperately rushed to be by her side.
However, the 38-year-old sadly didn’t make it to the Scottish estate of Balmoral until after his grandmother’s death was announced to the public.
While a host of senior royals rushed to see the Queen before she died, it’s believed her eldest children Charles and Princess Anne were the only ones who were able to make it on time.
Prince Andrew, Prince William, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie got a private jet from Berkshire to Aberdeen on September 8 after hearing the news of her declining health, but it’s understood they did not reach the estate before she passed.
According to The Sun, Harry was supposed to be on their flight, but things were delayed when the Duke of Sussex was allegedly told he couldn’t bring Meghan.
Earlier that day, the couple’s spokesman said they would both be travelling to Scotland, but it was later confirmed that the Duchess wouldn’t be joining her husband.
Insiders have since claimed Charles phoned his youngest son and said it was “not appropriate” for Meghan to be there.
Following the delay, Harry had to jump on a separate flight without Meghan to Aberdeen, but he sadly didn’t make it until after the Queen’s death was announced to the public.
Harry’s flight had been due to land at 6.29pm, a minute before the statement, but it was 20 minutes late taking off from London’s Luton Airport.
By the time he landed in Aberdeen at 6.46pm, it was 16 minutes after the Palace had made the announcement.
The Duke was then driven to Balmoral Castle, where he reportedly declined dinner at Birkhall with King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, and Prince William.
Just hours after he arrived at the royal estate on September 8, Harry departed the following morning and boarded a British Airways flight from Aberdeen to London at 10am.
The Duke was then reunited with Meghan at their UK residence, Frogmore Cottage, Windsor.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working members of the Royal family in March 2020, and subsequently moved to Montecito, California with their children.
Since then, there has been an evident rift between them and Harry’s family, especially with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Despite this, the couples stepped out in public together for the first time in over two years when they visited Windsor on September 10.
It was later reported that William, the new Prince of Wales, “invited” the couple to join him and his wife Kate Middleton to put on a “united front” in wake of the Queen’s death.
But days later, Harry and Meghan were reportedly uninvited from the Queen’s pre-funeral reception at Buckingham Palace.
According to The Telegraph, the couple had received an invite to the pre-funeral reception, which was hosted by King Charles III and his Queen Consort Camilla.
However, the pair were later informed that only working members of the Royal Family were welcome to attend the event.
After attending the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, the couple jetted back to the US the following day.
It’s understood the pair were eager to reunite with their two children – Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1 – after spending 17 days away from them.
Months after reuniting with the Royal family for the Queen’s funeral, the couple drove a further wedge between them and Harry’s family by releasing their explosive docu-series on Netflix.
The series featured shocking claims about the Royal family, as Harry and Meghan explained why they decided to step down as senior working royals.
Harry’s family are now bracing for the impact of his new memoir, which is set for release on January 10.
According to leaked excerpts from the book, the Duke of Sussex takes aim at his brother Prince William in his memoir – and claims the Prince of Wales once physically attacked him.
