Prince Harry surprised royal watchers across the world when he jetted to the UK on Tuesday to see his father King Charles after learning he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Meghan Markle made the decision to stay at home in Montecito, California during his one-day visit, which experts regarded as a smart move due to the personal nature of the trip.
Since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the Royal Family behind and moved to the US, they have only been back to the UK a handful of times, with Meghan not returning since September 2022 for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth.
Harry however has been home more frequently for family events, court appearances and charity galas, yet his trips are often brief and he rarely makes time to see his family.
Here Express.co.uk takes a look back at the six solo visits the Duke has made since January 2020 when he and Meghan walked away for good.
April 2021
Harry made his first trip back to the UK just one month after the Sussexes gave their infamous interview to Oprah Winfrey in which they alleged a member of the Royal Family had made racially insensitive comments when Meghan was pregnant with Prince Archie.
He flew back to attend his grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral in Windsor, where he had an uncomfortable reunion with his father and brother, although his sister-in-law Princess Kate reportedly tried to act as peacemaker.
Meghan at the time was heavily pregnant with their daughter Princess Lilibet and was under doctor’s orders not to fly.
July 2021
For this trip, Harry was joined by his older brother Prince William to unveil a statue of their late mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace to celebrate what would have been her 60th birthday.
Apparently, the now-Prince of Wales did not want to attend the memorial, as a friend said: “William was still furious. He had taken the view that he’d only give so much. He just didn’t want to go there [with Harry].”
March 2023
Six months after Meghan’s most recent trip to the UK, Harry jetted to the UK to attend a four-day preliminary hearing at the High Court in London regarding his battle with publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
However he was told the King was “too busy” to see him and after the four-day hearing was over he headed straight back to California.
May 2023
Both the Duke and Duchess were invited to attend King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Coronation on May 6, however Meghan chose to stay home, supposedly because the date clashed with Archie’s fourth birthday.
Harry attended the occasion alone, sitting with his cousins in Westminster Abbey and reportedly did not have time to catch up with William or Charles as he flew back to the States to be with his family as soon as the ceremony wrapped.
