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Harry Stopped at the Palace but Didn’t Stay to Greet His Family

Harry made a half-hour pit stop on his way from Westminster Abbey to the airport. Sure, he didn’t want to see them, but why not even get changed?

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Just how bad is Prince Harry’s relationship with his family of origin?

Well, bad enough that despite making a quick stop at Buckingham Palace to gather himself while en route from Westminster Abbey to Heathrow Airport after his father’s coronation Saturday, he did not wait around to see or speak to any members of his family.

The fleeting visit lasted less than half an hour and took place while his family were all still on parade, participating in the coronation procession from the abbey to the palace, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

The Telegraph said the pit stop “was for logistical reasons” and “allowed Harry to take a moment out of the public gaze following the two-hour Abbey service” but said he did not see or speak to his family.

Bizarrely, Harry did not even take the opportunity to change while at the palace, instead wearing his morning suit and medals into the VIP suite at Heathrow for his return flight, a gesture that seemed to many to symbolize his desperation to flee the U.K.

Earlier in the day, when he was seated in the abbey with the York daughters, the Daily Mail reported that a professional lip reader interpreted him as saying: “I’m fed up with the way they treat me,” to Princess Eugenie’s husband, Jack Brooksbank. He was also seen to say his flight home was at “quarter to four,” according to reports.

Sources emphasized that the lack of contact with Harry during his brief palace layover was unavoidable for practical reasons, with Harry racing to return to his wife and children in America and the royals otherwise engaged processing through London in gold coaches.

However, the report will be seen as confirmation of the extreme tension between Harry and his family. He has not seen his family privately in the flesh since the publication of his memoir, Spare, which excoriated Prince William and King Charles, and was not invited to appear on the balcony with other family members. Friends of William have told The Daily Beast that he “hates” his brother for what he sees as betraying him by publicly revealing his secrets.

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Harry spent less than 30 hours in the U.K. during this visit.

He landed back in Los Angeles on Saturday evening and is said to have rushed home to Montecito to say goodnight to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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