Royal fans were left ‘swooning’ yesterday after Prince Harry opened and closed Meghan Markle’s car door for her during the walkabout with Prince William and Kate Middleton in Windsor.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance together at the gates of Windsor castle, spending time talking to well-wishers who had gathered in their thousands to pay their respects to the Queen, who died at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96.
Following the 40-minute walkabout, the reunited ‘Fab Four’, as they were nicknamed before Meghan and Harry stepped back from their royal duties, all got into a vehicle together.
William entered the driver’s side, with Kate on his left, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat in the back – with Harry sweetly rushing to open and close his wife’s car door for her.
A clip of the moment has been shared widely online, with royal enthusiasts calling Harry ‘their kind of gentleman’ for his kind gesture.
Royal fans were left ‘swooning’ yesterday after Prince Harry opened and closed Meghan Markle’s car door for her during the walkabout with Prince William and Kate Middleton in Windsor
Reaction: A clip of the moment has been shared widely online, with royal enthusiasts calling Harry ‘their kind of gentleman’ for his kind gesture
Well-wishers rushed to social media to praise the prince, with one person writing: ‘Say what you will about Harry and Meghan but he puts his arm around her back and opens her car door for her. He loves her. That gets a swoon from me.’
A second tweeted: ‘Harry opened the car door for Meghan and returned back to the other side to enter the car. My kind of gentleman.’
A third wrote: ‘I love how Harry opened the door for his wife and made sure she was inside the car before getting in the car himself. A true gentleman.’
A fourth added: ‘Prince Harry opening and closing the door for his wife, Princess Diana would be proud.’
Prince William and Kate Middleton, and Meghan and Harry appeared in black at Windsor Castle on Saturday evening to inspect the sea of floral tributes laid outside the gates of the Berkshire estate in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The reunion marks the first time that the two couples have all appeared in public since Commonwealth Day on March 9, 2020, just weeks before the Covid lockdown.
Well-wishers rushed to social media to praise the prince, with one person writing: ‘Say what you will about Harry and Meghan but he puts his arm around her back and opens her car door for her. He loves her. That gets a swoon from me.’
Harry and Meghan, who quit frontline duties two years ago to strike out on their own in California and then levied a series of bombshell allegations against The Firm, held hands as they looked at the tributes, with Harry at one point affectionately putting his hand on Meghan’s back.
They were seen pointing at different tributes and discussing them as members of the crowd waved at them.
One well-wisher who spoke to Harry and Meghan told MailOnline: ‘It’s lovely to see them both together. Maybe they can get back to a proper relationship.
‘Lovely ripple went through the crowd as they approached. Hopefully the healing between Harry and his brother can start now. I’m just so excited to have seen them both together. It’s lovely.’
Another mourner said: ‘We couldn’t believe it when the gates opened, and we saw William and Harry walk down with Meghan and Kate. I’ll be honest there was a little bit of a groan when Harry and Meghan came down our side, but I passed him a bunch of flowers and he was happy to take them.
The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance together at the gates of Windsor castle, spending time talking to well-wishers who had gathered in their thousands to pay their respects to the Queen, who died at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96. Pictured, Harry opening Meghan’s car door
Following the 40-minute walkabout, the reunited ‘Fab Four’, as they were nicknamed before Meghan and Harry stepped back from their royal duties, all got into a vehicle together
William entered the driver’s side, with Kate on his left, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat in the back – with Harry sweetly rushing to open and close his wife’s car door for her
‘I’m pleased that they came out together and as a family I’m delighted that they all took the time to come and say hello to the crowds. Sad things like funerals bring families together so I hope that when they get back to California they think long and hard about everything that’s happened.’
Harry only took place after an extended negotiation which delayed the Sussexes arrival by at least 45 minutes.
Royal sources say William attempted to bury the hatchet by extending an ’11th-hour olive branch’ to his younger brother Harry, by asking him to join him on a walkabout outside Windsor Castle following a phone call with his father Charles III.
In a scene that clearly delighted royal fans, who had come in their hundreds to the gates of the Windsor estate to mourn the Queen’s death, William and Harry walked out side-by-side with wives Kate and Meghan.
The ‘fab four’ reunited at Windsor to mourn the death of The Queen; it was the first time the couples have been together in public since March 2020
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex view the tributes left after the death of Queen Elizabeth II
Last night, a Kensington Palace spokesman said that the Prince of Wales had invited the Sussexes to join him and the Princess of Wales during yesterday evening’s walkabout.
However, according to The Times, the camps required extended negotiations beforehand which delayed their arrival by 45 minutes.
A senior Palace source said: ‘The Prince of Wales invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to join him and the Princess of Wales earlier. The Prince of Wales thought it was an important show of unity for the Queen at an incredibly difficult time for the family.’
Experts predict the moment could provide a turning point in the frayed relationship between newly-titled Waleses, and the Sussexes, who have been at odds following a series of damaging interviews by Harry and Meghan.
The Montecito-based Sussexes were consequently in the UK on a pseudo royal tour when the Queen’s health suddenly deteriorated on Thursday.
Harmony? The Princes appeared to have put their troubles to one side to honour the Queen’s memory
It is believed the Sussexes had not previously made any plans to meet with the Waleses, despite staying in Frogmore Cottage, just 700 yards from William and Kate’s Adelaide Cottage. However both William and Harry raced to Balmoral on Thursday after it became clear the Queen’s health was faltering.
The Sussexes’ friend and preferred journalist Omid Scobie later claimed on Twitter that the invitation was made at the ’11th hour’.
However, hinting that William is prepared to extend Harry an olive branch and work towards melting the ice between them, he declared: ‘It is, without a doubt, a significant moment in the history of the relationship between the two brothers’.
King Charles says he wants ‘to express my love for Harry and Meghan’ as he extends olive branch to the US-based prince and his wife
King Charles III extended an olive branch to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in his first address to Britain and the world as monarch yesterday.
The new Sovereign, who became King the moment that his mother Queen Elizabeth II passed away on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle aged 96, said he wished to ‘express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas’ – in a move likely to be regarded by royal commentators as a bid to finally draw a line under the tumult of recent years.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on the long Walk at Windsor Castle to greet well-wishers
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex plunged the monarchy into crisis during the twilight years of the Queen’s reign after sensationally quitting frontline royal duties and moving to California two years ago – a saga which precipitated the rift between Harry and his brother William, allegations of racism against the royals and claims the Firm failed to help a suicidal Meghan.
After their bombshell interview with US talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Harry appeared to suggest, in a mental health podcast, that his father and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had all failed as parents – while the family was still mourning Prince Philip’s death last year.
The Duke of Sussex had grief etched on his face as he was swept into the grounds of Windsor Castle this afternoon after losing a race against time to get to his grandmother’s bedside before she died yesterday.
King Charles III went to Buckingham Palace to meet fellow mourners this afternoon where he shook hands and accepted their condolences to cries of ‘God save the King’ and impromptu renditions of the national anthem. One woman kissed him on the cheek. He also inspected flowers and tributes left for his late mother at the gates before entering the palace.
Harry landed at Heathrow yesterday lunchtime after jumping on an early morning BA flight where he comforted an airport worker with a reassuring hand on her shoulder after she gave him her condolences.
He left Balmoral after 12 hours mourning his grandmother with his father and brother – but despite the brevity of the visit, the Sussexes are not expected to return to California until after the state funeral, currently expected to be ten days from now on Monday, September 19.
The Duke of Sussex was the last royal to arrive at the Aberdeenshire castle on Thursday and the first to leave on Friday morning.
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