After officially stepping away from their senior royal duties in April, the Sussexes have plenty of realistic reasons for not seeing the Queen—the major one being that they now live in California. But now Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might cancel visits to Queen Elizabeth that were previously scheduled to take place this summer for another reason altogether.
While it might sound like a bad thing, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are actually avoiding the Queen due to logistics yet again. And this time, it’s something entirely out of their control: Whereas Meghan, 38, and Harry, 35, did make plans about their move to Los Angeles, they didn’t foresee the sudden need for social distancing measures and travel restrictions. In fact, that pair had all intention to vacation with Queen Elizabeth, 94, in Scotland at her Balmoral estate. (There’s no doubt that baby Archie—whom the Queen misses dearly—would also be in attendance).
But now, royal experts are not expecting the reunion to take place. Health secretary Matt Hancock told This Morning that it is “unlikely” people will be able to fly into the U.K. this summer—and if at that, government officials are already considering a mandatory two-week isolation period for anyone who flies into England. These rules would make it difficult, if not impossible for the Sussexes to return to see the Queen, especially given her careful approach to isolating.
Recent reports suggest that the Queen actually plans to stay at Windsor Castle for the foreseeable future, while some went so far as to say that she may potentially remain out of public life indefinitely. “It’s terribly sad, but I can’t see how the Queen can resume her usual job,” royal biographer Andrew Morton said. “It would be far too risky for the Queen to start meeting people on a regular basis. She has always loved getting out and meeting people, but she can’t take the risk. How can she carry out investitures, meet ambassadors, do walkabouts, and visit places without meeting people at close range? If she gets the bug, it could be fatal and would put Prince Philip at risk.”
For the Queen’s sake and everyone else’s, we hope that risk begins to disappear soon.