Prince Harry says his family didn't include him in travel plans before Queen Elizabeth died
When the palace announced last September that Queen Elizabeth II was under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, Prince Harry was in London for a charity event. 60 Minutes' Anderson Cooper spoke with Harry about what happened next.
"I asked my brother— I said, 'What are your plans? How are you and Kate getting up there?' And then, a couple of hours later, you know, all of the family members that live within the Windsor and Ascot area were jumping on a plane together," Harry said. "A plane with 12, 14, maybe 16 seats."
"You were not invited on that plane?" Cooper asked.
"I was not invited," Harry said.
By the time Harry got to Balmoral on his own, the queen was dead.
"I walked into the hall, and my aunt was there to greet me," Harry said. "And she asked me if I wanted to see her. I thought about it for about five seconds, thinking, 'Is this a good idea?' And I was, like, 'You know what? You can— you can do this. You— you need to say goodbye.' So I went upstairs, took my jacket off and walked in and just spent some time with her alone."
"Where was she?" Cooper asked.
"She was in her bedroom," Harry said. "I was actually— I was really happy for her. Because she'd finished life. She'd completed life, and her husband was— was waiting for her. And the two of them are buried together."
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As they had 25 years earlier when their mother died, Harry and William once again found themselves walking together, but apart. This time behind their grandmother's casket.
"Do you speak to William now? Do you text?" Cooper asked.
"Currently, no," Harry said. "But I look forward to— I look forward to us being able to find peace."
"How long has it been since you spoke?" Cooper asked.
"A while," Harry said.
Harry also said he hadn't spoken with his dad for "quite a while."
"Can you see a day when you would return as a full-time member of the royal family?" Cooper asked.
"No. I can't see that happening," Harry said.
"In the book, you called this 'a full-scale rupture,'" Cooper said. "Can it be healed?"
"Yes," Harry said. "The ball is very much in their court, but, you know, Meghan and I have continued to say that we will openly apologize for anything that we did wrong, but every time we ask that question, no one's telling us the specifics or anything. There needs to be a constructive conversation, one that can happen in private that doesn't get leaked."
60 Minutes reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. Palace representatives demanded that before considering commenting we provide them with our report prior to it airing, which is something 60 Minutes does not do.