After two weeks of grieving Queen Elizabeth II and being scrutinized by the British press, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are heading home to Montecito, California, pretty much ASAP, Us Weekly reports. Don’t chalk their hasty exit up to family tension, though: The couple just really misses their children, three-year-old Archie and one-year-old Lilibet, from whom they’ve been separated.
“Meghan and Harry are preparing to return to Montecito almost immediately after the funeral [on Monday], where they’ll be reunited with Archie and Lilibet after being separated for over two weeks,” the Us source said. “[It’s] the longest amount of time they’ve been apart from their children.”
“They’ve missed the kids like crazy and have been FaceTiming them every day, but can’t wait to see and hold them again after a poignant few weeks,” the source added.
A source also spoke to Us Weekly about the state of Prince Harry and Prince William’s strained relationship. “The Queen’s funeral gave the royals a window of opportunity to heal as a family,” a source told the outlet, adding that although there’s “still tension” between the brothers, “they both agreed to put aside any hard feelings” as they mourned the Queen.
William gave a small public gesture of unity to Harry and Meghan during the Queen’s committal service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. William invited the couple to sit with him, Kate, and the couple’s two older children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Notably, Harry sat as far from William as possible, with Charlotte, Kate, and George sitting between the brothers.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.