Prince Harry Talks About His Grandmother's Death In 'Spare'
The Duke of Sussex, 39, opened up about the late Queen Elizabeth II's final moments in his memoir, and claimed that he found out about his grandmother's death from the BBC website, and not any members of his family.
As per the memoir, Prince Harry was on his way from the U.S. to Balmoral to see his grandmother once he found out about her rapidly declining health, but she had sadly passed away before he had touched down.
He wrote: "When the plane started to descend, I saw that my phone lit up. It was a message from Meg, 'Call me when you get this.' I looked at the BBC website. My grandmother had died. My father was King."
Perhaps Prince Harry could have made his way to the U.K. a little earlier, but royal author Omid Scobie previously wrote that he was "kept in the dark" about the late monarch's health. In his own bombshell book Endgame – Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival, Scobie claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had "no idea" that the royal family were preparing for the late Queen's final moments.
"The Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was already planning for the Queen’s final hours and the first days of the monarchy’s new era — until the duke’s phone started ringing. An unknown number. He usually ignored those," Scobie wrote.
He then went on to say that the former Suits actress insisted that he answer the call, which he did "just before it stopped." The call, as per the book, was from Prince Harry's father, who informed him about the Queen's health, after which Prince Harry immediately made arrangements to fly to Scotland. Scobie also wrote how Prince Harry messaged older brother Prince William after the call to ask if they could travel to Scotland together, but received no response. This left Prince Harry and Meghan alone to "operate in the dark."
Royal Author Calls Prince Harry's Recollection Into Question
Although Prince Harry may have found out about his grandmother's death via the media, a royal author has insisted that it wasn't through the royal family's lack of trying to contact him.
"In his memoir, Spare, he suggests that no one had told him and that he was reduced to learning the news from the BBC website as the plane was landing. Not exactly. A member of the palace staff says that the King had been urgently trying to make contact with his younger son," royal author Robert Hardman wrote in his book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.
"There were repeated attempts to get through to him but no calls were going through because Harry was airborne," he added.