Prince Harry and Meghan walk a delicate path after the Queen’s death

ABERDEEN, Scotland –

Just before boarding a plane in Aberdeen on Friday, the morning after the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry put his arm around the shoulder of an airport employee who had expressed her sympathy as she escorted him down the runway.

It was a moment of warmth and ease that is characteristic of Harry, whose accessible personality has long made him one of the most beloved royals – until his decision to step down from royal duties caused a rift in the family that is far from over is solved.

Harry was the last to arrive at Balmoral Castle on Thursday, as the Queen’s closest relatives rushed to her in her final hours, and the first to leave on Friday, reflecting the fact that he was no longer part of the inner circle of the family is.

In happier times, Harry and his grandmother maintained a close, playful relationship, which was brought to the attention of the general public in 2016 when they appeared together in a comic book video and a microphone taunt by Barack and Michelle Obama ahead of the Invictus Games, a Competition, responded for disabled veterans that Harry promoted.

But it was purely coincidental that Harry was in the UK when Elizabeth died, and before her death there were no plans for him to see his family during his visit from the United States, where he lives with his American wife Meghan.

With the death of the matriarch, family dynamics are bound to evolve, and as the pomp and ceremony of Elizabeth’s funeral unfolds, observers will be watching closely for signs of easing.

How the royals treat Harry, Meghan and their children will be a central theme of the post-Elizabeth era – one of the family dramas that have made the House of Windsor an enduring object of worldwide fascination.

Under royal rules, the monarch’s grandchildren automatically become princes or princesses of the realm, and now that Harry’s father Charles is king, his children Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, are given these august titles. Lilibet was named after the Queen’s childhood nickname.

But this novelty alone is unlikely to restore harmony in Harry’s relations with Charles or with his older brother Prince William, the current heir to the throne.

The brothers were close for many years after the death of their mother Diana in a car accident in 1997 when William was 15 and Harry 12, but their bond has been strained since Harry and Meghan began dating in January 2020 .

“REMINDERS MAY VARY”

Originally, the couple said they planned to balance their time between Britain and the United States and carve out “a progressive new role” within the monarchy.

But their plan didn’t sit well with Elizabeth, Charles or William, who decided there was no room for part-timers at the firm, as the royal family is sometimes called.

Instead, the couple relocated to California full-time and, after a 12-month review period, gave up their royal patronage and permanently left the exclusive club of those addressed as “Her Royal Highness”.

In March 2021, they gave Oprah Winfrey a bombshell interview in which Meghan said her dissatisfaction during her time as working queen brought her to the brink of suicide.

She also said there were concerns in the family when she was pregnant with Archie about what color the baby’s skin would be. Meghan’s mother is black and her father is white.

The interview, which aired on CBS in a blaze of global publicity, generated acres of newsprint but only a terse statement from Buckingham Palace that icily said that “some memories may vary,” although the issues raised were “worrying.”

Since then, Harry and Meghan have engaged in projects such as podcasts and television programs while also suing British tabloids, some of which have maintained a constant barrage of anti-Meghan stories.

Publisher Penguin Random House announced in July 2021 that Harry was working on an “intimate and heartfelt” book about his life, due for release in late 2022 – and sending shivers down the spines of royalty.

Depending on its content, and crucially the reaction of his father and brother, the publication of Harry’s book could prove to be either a moment of healing or yet another grievance for the two sides to hold against each other.

(Reporting by Phil Noble in Aberdeen and Estelle Shirbon in London; Editing by Alison Williams)