Prince Harry says he was able to spend time alone with Queen Elizabeth II after her death

Duke of Sussex tells Anderson Cooper he was not invited on plane with royal family to Balmoral Castle

Prince Harry has candidly revealed he was able to spend a few moments alone with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, after her death in September.

The Duke of Sussex opened up about the late Queen’s passing at the age of 96 during his 60 Minutes interview with Anderson Cooper on Sunday 8 January.

According to Prince Harry, who was in the UK with his wife Meghan Markle before the Queen’s death, when he learned that the monarch was under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, he asked his brother Prince William how he and the other members of the royal family were travelling to the castle.

However, Harry said he was ultimately not invited to travel with the rest of the royal family to Balmoral, despite the likelihood that there was room on the plane.

“I asked my brother, I said: ‘What are your plans? How are you and Kate getting up there?’ And then, a couple of hours later, you know, all of the family members that live within the Windsor and Ascot area were jumping on a plane together, a plane with 12, 14, maybe 16 seats,” he said.

By the time Prince Harry arrived at Balmoral Castle, his grandmother was dead.

Although he missed the opportunity to see the Queen before her death, Harry told Cooper that he was able to spend time alone with her after she had passed, after first asking himself whether he thought it was a “good idea”.

“I walked into the hall, and my aunt was there to greet me. And she asked me if I wanted to see her. I thought about it for about five seconds, thinking, ‘Is this a good idea?’ And I was, like, ‘You know what? You can, you can do this. You, you need to say goodbye.’ So I went upstairs, took my jacket off and walked in and just spent some time with her alone,” the duke revealed.

According to Harry, the monarch was in her bedroom at Balmoral when she passed, with the duke also telling Cooper that he was “really happy” for his grandmother despite the somber occasion.

“She was in her bedroom. I was actually, I was really happy for her. Because she’d finished life. She’d completed life, and her husband was waiting for her. And the two of them are buried together,” he said.

The Queen’s husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, died in April 2021 at the age of 99. Following a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, the monarch was laid to rest inside a vault in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, alongside her husband.