Prior to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, the monarch’s children and grandchildren traveled to her Balmoral estate in Scotland to be by her side.
There have been conflicting reports about when the mourners arrived and who got there in time to bid the Queen farewell.
The matter will certainly be discussed and dissected by historians and tabloid journalists alike in the years to come.
Currently, multiple insiders are claiming that Prince Harry did not make it to his grandmother’s bedside in time, despite the fact that he was relatively close by, in London, when he received word that her death was imminent.
“It’s understood that the family wanted Prince Harry to be there, even though he was unable to get to Balmoral in time to see his grandmother,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight this week.
Already, critics of Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have seized on that detail as an example of the couple’s alleged disloyalty.
And the Queen’s death may well have further negative consequences on the Sussexes’ reputation and relationships.
Some agitators have even suggested that King Charles might strip Harry and Meghan of their titles, though that seems exceedingly unlikely.
Others, like Nicholl, are hopeful that the passing of the beloved matriarch will help her descendants to gain some perspective and fix their damaged relationships.
She says she’s particularly hopeful that Harry and Prince William will set their differences aside as the family comes together to pay tribute to the world’s longest-reigning monarch.
“We know that this is a rift between the royal brothers that runs deep,” Nicholl told ET.
“We know it is a rift that caused the queen a great deal of pain, and the brothers will be together at Balmoral,” she added.
“This is the first time they have been together, really, since the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral nearly 18 months ago.”
William and Harry were both in attendance at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June, but they reportedly spent very little time under the same roof and were never alone together.
The brothers were once close, but have been at odds since Harry started dating Meghan back in 2016.
It’s difficult to imagine that their relationship could overcome something like William’s alleged disapproval of Harry’s wife, especially with all of the back-and-forth mudslinging of recent years.
But William and Harry have shared experiences that no one else on the planet can fully understand.
And Nicholl is not alone in her wish for the two princes to come together in their most recent bout of grief.
“I think there is every hope that this will hopefully trigger some sort of reconciliation between these two brothers, who for the past 18 months have really been brothers at war,” she says.
Over the past 24 hours, there’s been a great deal of talk about the Queen’s legacy and global impact.
But for all that she’s accomplished, we’re sure nothing would make the matriarch happier than if her final act was to bring her grandsons back together.