Harry and Meghan 'asked to return to US on Air Force One with the Bidens' after Queen's funeral
19 July 2023, 23:09
Harry and Meghan are believed to have asked to return to the US on Air Force One with Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden following the Queen's funeral.
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Harry and Meghan had already been in the UK for a charity event when it was announced that the Queen had died on September 8 last year. They stayed through to her funeral on September 19.
The pair were disinvited from a pre-funeral reception at Buckingham Palace, where working royals welcomed foreign royals and world leaders, which was at the time said to have left them "baffled".
During that period, their staff are understood to have reached out to the White House, hoping for a ride back across the pond.
The White House refused the couple's request over concerns that it would cause a "commotion", sources said.
It comes after First Lady Jill Biden was also invited to the Invictus Games but the offer wast shut down over concerns that it would offend the royal family.
Read more: Harry and Meghan could be forced to 'downsize' Montecito mansion after Spotify deal collapses
There was barely any discussion over the return trip the US but instead a general agreement that the request was a "non-starter", sources told the Mail.
Another source told the publication: "It would have caused such a commotion. It would have strained relations with the Palace and the new King."
The White House and Buckingham Palace would not comment on the claims.
The president and first lady are allowed to invite anyone they want on Air Force One but the move would raise questions over who is paying for the passengers.
The US government pays for official trips, the Bidens pay for family members who join them and the Democratic Party pays for travel for campaign events.
Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020, taking major steps to become financially independent once they had relocated to the US.
They signed a $100 million deal with Netflix to produce content and also signed a deal with Spotify which recently collapsed.
