When Harry Was Allowed to Visit His Granny Queen Elizabeth's Grave But Only Under One Strict Condition

Queen Elizabeth II passed away at 96 on September 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle. She was laid to rest at St. George's Chapel in Windsor next to her late husband, Prince Philip. Around the first anniversary of her death, Prince Harry happened to be in the UK for a charity event and expressed the desire to visit the final resting place of his granny. His request was granted but under one condition— he was asked to keep his visit discreet. According to The Telegraph, Harry appeared emotional as he left the chapel in a picture taken by a bystander that went viral on social media. He then proceeded to Dusseldorf, the site of the opening of the Invictus Games.

According to CNN, a picture of the Queen's last resting place was made public by Buckingham Palace after her funeral. Within the King George VI Memorial Chapel, is an etched ledger stone bearing the late monarch's name. Brass letter inlays mention her parents on a hand-carved slab of Belgian black marble. The names of the late Queen and her spouse, Prince Philip, are then displayed in succession. Each name has its birth and death years etched next to it, and a garter star divides the two royal couples.

As per People, Prince Harry spoke highly about his late grandmother at the WellChild Awards in London that year. "As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away," he said. "As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her. And that's precisely why I know, exactly one year on, she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we're together continuing to spotlight such an incredible community." 

As per BBC, the Duke of Sussex described the final moments of learning about the Queen's death in his memoir Spare. He shared that he received a call from his father then-Prince Charles, informing him that the Queen's condition was worsening from his father. Harry claimed that he was requested not to bring his wife Meghan Markle along, despite having made plans to visit Balmoral. He learned of the Queen's passing when he came across a BBC News piece when he checked his phone after his jet touched down in Scotland. "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," he wrote. On the flight to Scotland, Harry allegedly recalled his last conversation with the late queen. "I spent almost the whole flight looking at the clouds, reliving the last time I'd spoken to my grandmother. We'd been chatting at length four days before. We touched on lots of issues. Her health, of course, the chaos in Downing Street, the Braemar Games, which she was sorry not to have been able to attend because she wasn't well. We also spoke about the devastating drought. Meg and I were staying at Frogmore and the lawn was in a really bad state. It's like my head, granny, full of bald spots and brown patches!' She burst out laughing. I told her to take care of herself and that I hoped we'd see each other soon."