Prince Harry shocked royal watchers with an unexpected showing at London’s High Court on Monday. Harry, 38, went from Montecito to attend a court hearing against the Daily Mail’s owners, ANL. (Associated Newspapers Limited).
The Prince is one of several high-profile people who have filed claims alleging misuse of private information and unlawful information collection. Despite his presence in London, Harry is thought to be living at Frogmore Cottage in advance of his eviction, so a family reunion appears improbable.
He is unlikely to see King Charles or Prince William. It’s a position also adopted by Harry’s maternal uncle, Charles Spencer. Despite his close friendship with both William and Harry, Charles has decided not to participate in the recent public outrage over Harry’s explosive allegations.
Following Harry’s return to the UK, he decided to concentrate on his personal life. In the hours following the release of the first pictures of the Prince, Charles instead shared an incredible picture of a bird of prey in the gardens of Althorp, the Spencer family’s ancestral home.
“Buzzard watching me closely in Althorp’s garden,” the 58-year-old captioned his post. Harry’s return to the UK is likely to be bittersweet because it will be one of the last times he stays at Frogmore before he returned to the Crown Estate.
Harry and Meghan have yet to announce their presence at the coronation of the King in May. If they attend, they may stay at Frogmore, but royal observers must wait and see if the Sussexes make the journey. The late Queen Elizabeth II gave Harry and Meghan use of the house soon after their wedding in 2018.
Officially, the property is owned by the Crown Estate. Between 2019 and 2020, Harry and Meghan resided in the cottage, undergoing $3 million in taxpayer-funded renovations, though they have since returned the cost in full through contributions to the Sovereign Grant.
In January 2020, the couple relocated to Canada before settling in their current $14.7 million house in Montecito. Nonetheless, they returned to Windsor on occasion, including in June 2022 to mark Lilibet’s first birthday and in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s death last September.