Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have visited Queen Elizabeth II together for the first time since they quit royal life more than two years ago during a brief stop in the U.K.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex traveled to Windsor Castle in the U.K. on Thursday while on their way to The Hague, in the Netherlands, to attend the Invictus Games, the BBC reported on Friday. The prince is a founding partner of the Games.
Markle had not seen the 95-year-old monarch since March 2020 and is not believed to have been in the country since that time. Prince Harry attended the unveiling of a statue of his mother, Princess Diana, in July 2021.
The duke and duchess also reportedly met Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, at Windsor Castle but Harry's older brother Prince William is believed to be out of the country on a family skiing holiday.
Harry promised the queen that she would soon get to see his two children, according to The Mirror, which cited senior royal sources. The newspaper quoted those sources describing the meeting with the Queen as "incredibly warm and good natured."
Meghan and Harry's children are Archie, aged 2, and 10-month-old Lilibet. The queen has never met her great-granddaughter despite the fact she is named after her. "Lilibet" was a nickname the queen had as a child. The Sussexes are currently based in California.
Their meeting with Prince Charles lasted about 15 minutes, according to The Daily Mail, and took place before the meeting with the queen. Charles' wife, Camilla, reportedly joined him halfway through his meeting with his son and daughter-in-law.
The newspaper also suggested that Harry meeting his father was a precondition for meeting the queen, but this has not been confirmed.
The couple's exit from royal life two years ago has proven highly controversial, particularly following an interview Harry and Meghan gave to Oprah Winfrey, which was released in March 2021.
Meghan previously accused an unnamed senior member of the royal family of racism, while Harry is currently in dispute with the U.K. Home Office.
The British government has said it will not provide the same level of security for the Sussexes while they are in the U.K. that they previously had when they were full members of the royal family. This is despite Harry offering to cover the costs himself.
Prince Harry did not attend a memorial service for his late grandfather, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, that took place at Westminster Abbey in London in March this year.
That memorial service was the first major event the queen attended in 2022. The elderly monarch has suffered from health issues this year and is experiencing mobility problems. She has pulled out of attending several events.
She did not attend the traditional Maundy Thursday coin-giving ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor this week and Prince Charles filled in for her. She is also not expected to attend an Easter service this Sunday.
Elizabeth II will turn 96 years old on April 21 and the country will celebrate her 70 years on the throne. It is not clear whether Harry and Meghan will attend the festivities.
Newsweek has asked Buckingham Palace for comment.
