Just days before Prince Harry traveled to England for a four-day blitz of events, his distant relative passed away. Katherine, the Duchess of Kent, died on September 4. Harry arrived in England on September 8th, but he had exited the UK and Ukraine at least one or two days before the duchess’s funeral on September 16th. Many royalists wondered aloud if Harry would find a way to stay in London for the duchess’s funeral. Alas, he did not, preferring to spend his birthday (the 15th) with his wife and children in California. Still, Harry did something really sweet when he was in town – he stopped by Kensington Palace to visit the Duke of Kent and the Kent family.
The Duke of Sussex has been back home in Montecito for nearly a week, but his visit to the UK is still making headlines. Harry spent four days in the London attending events close to his heart, including the WellChild Awards, where he gave an exclusive interview to HELLO!, and the Diana Award, before travelling to Ukraine on 12 September and then returning to Los Angeles.
Amid his packed schedule, the Duke managed to reunite with his father, King Charles, for the first time in nearly two years – and also made time for another deeply personal visit.
As revealed in this week’s episode of A Right Royal Podcast, a source confirmed to hosts Andrea Caamano and Emily Nash that although Harry missed the funeral of the Duchess of Kent, he travelled privately to Kensington Palace to “personally pay his respects and offer condolences” to the Duke of Kent.
“He has loved catching up with family, friends and colleagues,” a source close to the Duke adds. “His only regret was not being able to stay longer and see more people, but the meetings in Ukraine had been in the diary for a long time and it mattered to him to be there in person to see the Invictus Games Foundation’s growing work and the progress at Superhumans.”
The source added: “The whole trip felt like a real success for everyone involved. His passion for his patronages and the causes he cares about hasn’t dimmed one bit – he’s already buzzing to get back and do more.”
That’s very sweet. I have no idea if Harry was genuinely close to the Kents, but he did invite them to his 2018 wedding, and that was one of the duchess’s few public appearances in the final decade of her life. Plus, I’m sure Harry saw the Duchess of Kent more like a dear friend to his mother. When you consider the Diana connection, it makes more sense that he wanted to pay his respects and visit with the Kents. I’m sure they understood why he couldn’t make the funeral as well – all things considered, I’m glad Harry wasn’t there. They would have made this poor woman’s funeral all about Harry and his grim, unmoisturized brother.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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