Report: Queen’s Balmoral wish missed without Sussex children
A new report has claimed Queen Elizabeth II’s hope of gathering all her great-grandchildren at Balmoral in the summer of 2022 was not realised, with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, not travelling to Scotland with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The piece revisits the late monarch’s final months and the family dynamics in the period before her death in September 2022.
Daily Express US reported that sources told Radar Online the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s absence meant the Queen missed a final family moment she had hoped to share at Balmoral, where she wanted her great-grandchildren together during that summer.
The claim is also linked to royal biographer Robert Hardman’s book, Queen Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, which says the Queen wanted the great-grandchildren to visit Balmoral “at some point over that summer,” even if the Sussexes might not have been able to make it. The report also quotes an unnamed insider saying the unfulfilled plan “left a lingering sadness” among those who knew how important it was to the monarch.
While Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, are said to have spent time at Balmoral with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the wider context of strained family relationships has been a recurring theme since 2022, including claims that Prince William reportedly cut off Prince Harry after a 2022 fallout.
The Sussexes did travel to the UK with their children in June 2022 for the Platinum Jubilee, which marked Princess Lilibet’s first visit and included her first meeting with the Queen. The latest report underscores how the Balmoral summers in the Queen’s final year have continued to be scrutinised as royal biographers and commentators reassess the family’s last opportunities for private time together.
