Prince Harry has returned to the U.K. to attend the unveiling of a statue in honor of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Harry arrived at London Heathrow Airport yesterday (June 24) on a Boeing 777-323 American Airlines flight that departed from Los Angeles International Airport on the evening of June 23 and landed at Heathrow at 12:38 p.m. local time, according to the Daily Mail.
Royal aides and security officials met the Duke of Sussex at Heathrow. They drove him to his former Frogmore Cottage home where he is expected to quarantine for five days before reuniting with other Royals for the Diana statue unveiling ceremony.
He will reunite with his older brother, Prince William, for the first time since he traveled to the UK in April to attend Prince Philip’s burial.
Harry traveled alone without Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet
Prince Harry traveled alone to the U.K. to reunite with his brother, William, and the rest of the Royal Family.
His wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, stayed back with their children — Archie and Lilibet — in California. The family moved to their multi-million dollar mansion in the upscale neighborhood of Montecito, Santa Barbara in March 2020, shortly after they announced they were stepping down as working Royals.
Meghan and Harry welcomed their second child, Lilibet on June 4. They named their newborn daughter Lilibet in honor of the Queen.
Lilibet was the Queen’s childhood pet name.
Diana statue unveiling event will take place on July 1
The Diana statue unveiling event is scheduled to take place on the grounds of Kensington Palace on Thursday, July 1.
The date coincides with the 60th anniversary of Princess Diana’s birth. Diana was born on July 1, 1961, and died in a car crash in August 1997 at the age of 36.
The Palace confirmed that Harry and Prince William would attend the Diana statue unveiling event scheduled to take place at the Sunken Garden, Kensington Palace.
Close members of Prince Diana’s family, and Charles, Prince of Wales, will also attend the event.
Harry and William worked together on the Diana statue project
Monsters & Critics reported that despite the tensions between William and Harry in the wake of Megxit, they worked together on the project to honor their late mother with a statue.
The brothers first announced plans to commission a statue in honor of Princess Diana in August 2017, long before Megxit caused tensions between them.
Meghan and Harry announced they were stepping down as working members of the Royal Family in January 2020. Months later, in August 2020, Harry and William put aside their differences to release a joint statement that the statue in honor of Diana will be unveiled on July 1, 2021.
The rift between the brothers deepened after Meghan and Harry made explosive allegations of racism and neglect against the Royal Family during their controversial tell-all interview with Oprah in March 2021.
Despite the deepening rift, the brothers worked together to approve a design for the statue by the artist Ian Rank-Broadley.
Royal fans are now hoping that the upcoming Diana statue unveiling event will provide an opportunity for family reconciliation.