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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Sophie Law & Jennifer Newton

Prince William 'ordered plane to leave without Prince Harry' on day of Queen's death

Prince William ordered a plane to take off without Prince Harry on the day the Queen died as members of the royal family raced to be with her, a royal biographer has claimed.

The Queen passed away on September 8, 2022, with news of her ailment forcing senior royals to make their way to her bedside at Balmoral during her final hours.

According to an updated book about Meghan Markle by journalist Tom Bower, the future king told the RAF plane heading to Scotland to leave without his brother, forcing him to make his own way to Balmoral, The Mirror reports.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were in the UK at the time of her death by chance as they were on a charity visit.

And according to a new chapter in an updated paperback version of Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, the Duchess of Sussex suggested that she should accompany her husband as he travelled to see the Queen.

But according to the author, Harry was told Meghan was not welcome during the Queen's final moments. His own wife, Princess Kate, was also missing from the group.

Prince William was "unwilling to waste time" and ordered the RAF jet to take off at 2.39pm, leaving Prince Harry to "make the journey alone".

(Getty Images)

According to the book, he arrived in Scotland 14 minutes after the Queen had died at 3.10pm.

The book states: "At Meghan’s suggestion, Harry insisted that he would be accompanied by his wife – and that plan was broadcast to journalists at 1.53 pm.

"Meghan’s expectation was astonishing. For four years she had rejected the Queen’s invitations to visit Balmoral but, in her last hours of life, Meghan eagerly sought to make the journey. Firmly, Harry was told that Meghan was not welcome.

"Unwilling to waste more time, William ordered the RAF jet to take off at 2.39 pm. Harry was left to hire his own plane and make the journey alone. He landed in Scotland at 6.46 pm, 14 minutes after the Queen’s death had been announced to the public. She had died at 3.10 pm."

The claims come as the royals also brace themselves for the release of Harry's own memoir Spare next week.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been working on a docuseries as part of a multi-million dollar Netflix deal. (Getty Images)

And in a leaked extract of that book, it is reported that Harry sensationally claims that he was physically attacked by William during a heated row over Meghan.

In the extract published by the Guardian, the Duke of Sussex alleges a confrontation with his elder brother at his London home in 2019 which left him with a visible injury to his back.

He claims the Prince of Wales grabbed him by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him to the floor.

Harry further claimed William had called the American actress "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive" – comments which the younger brother said parroted “the press narrative” about his wife.

The "extraordinary scene" from Nottingham Cottage is just "one of many" which will be featured in Spare when it is published on January 10, it is reported.

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