Prince Harry had to fork out £30,000 on a flight to Balmoral to see the Queen on the day she died, after Prince William ignored his texts, a new bombshell book has claimed.
Harry was told by King Charles, then Prince Charles, to come to see the Queen alone, according to extracts from Omid Scobie’s new book, Endgame, citing “protocol” as the reason an invite wasn’t extended to Meghan Markle.
However, Scobie quotes a Palace aide in his book, who said: “They just didn’t want Meghan there.”
The book details how Prince Harry was left scrambling for last minute travel arrangements, and reached out to Prince William, who was travelling to Balmoral via private jet. The Prince of Wales reportedly left Harry’s messages unanswered.
Scobie writes: “Though there were available seats on William’s chartered Dassault Falcon private jet, which was leaving in less than an hour, Harry was left to fend for himself.”
Scobie claims a family source confirmed William ignored Harry’s messages. He added: “He clearly didn’t want to see his brother.”
According to the book, Prince Harry was then left to “clamour” for travel options, eventually securing a £30,000 chartered flight from Luton Airport, a 40-minute drive from his-then residence Frogmore Cottage.
The book details that while the Duke of Sussex was on his flight, which took off from Luton Airport at 5.35pm, he was still unaware of the Queen’s death, with Team Sussex pleading with Buckingham Palace to delay the news until his flight had landed.
“His team literally had to beg for them to wait for his plane to land and they reluctantly agreed to hold the statement back for a little bit,” a quote from a close family friend reads in Scobie’s Endgame.
The Palace reportedly held on, as stormy weather meant Harry’s flight had to circle Aberdeen International Airport numerous times, but by 6pm patience wore thin, with the official announcement released at 6.30pm.
Scobie writes that claims from Palace sources that King Charles personally shared the news with Harry was “just a move to save face”.
Scobie quotes a friend of the Duke, who said: “His (Harry’s) relationship with the Queen was everything to him. She would have wanted him to know before it went out to the world.”
The book, written by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s unofficial biographer, has pointed major criticisms at the Royal Family, with Scobie particularly scathing towards Prince William and Princess Kate, who he dubbed “Katie Keen”, and labelled a “part-time working royal”.
Buckingham Palace has been largely silent in their response to the book, with an aide dismissing Endgame as just another book on the Windsors that is not worthy of official comment.
