Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently took Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to visit Althorp House, the childhood home and final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales, during a family trip to the UK that also included a private reunion with King Charles III at Highgrove House.
Family Visit to Althorp House and Diana’s Resting Place
During their recent travels to Europe, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex brought Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to Northamptonshire to tour Althorp House, the historic estate where Diana, Princess of Wales, spent much of her childhood. The Spencer family has owned the property for more than 500 years, and the late princess rests on a secluded island in the middle of the estate’s Oval Lake. In family photos shared by Meghan on Instagram, Harry, Archie and Lilibet could be seen walking down a tree-lined avenue that appeared to be at Althorp House, while another image showed Archie walking barefoot across the estate at sunset.
Harry appeared to be carrying bouquets, which has led to the suggestion they were paying tribute at Diana’s burial site. Her grave is on an island in the middle of Oval lake but is off limits to the public, with a memorial on the lakeside instead for visitors. The property was reportedly closed to the public from July 10 to 11, presumably to allow the family to enjoy Harry’s late mother’s home in privacy. Meghan shared a picture of Lilibet, five, walking in the sunshine between the trees, with Harry and Archie, seven, a few paces ahead. In all shared snaps, the children face away from the camera, as has become Meghan’s style in an attempt to keep their privacy.
Reunion with King Charles at Highgrove House
The UK itinerary also featured a family reunion with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London. Earlier this month, Meghan and the children flew privately into London from Europe, to join Harry as he visited the UK to promote his upcoming Invictus Games. Harry landed days before to launch his one-year countdown to his Invictus Games in Birmingham, before Meghan and the kids secretly flew out to meet him. Reportedly, the family also reunited with King Charles as he hosted them at Highgrove House. None of the pictures appear to be of the time spent with the King and Queen, where the family are said to have spent over an hour. It was unclear if that reunion would happen as initial reports claimed Meghan and the children would not be coming to the UK, having left over security concerns.
Summer Holiday Snapshots from Portugal and the UK
Meghan posted a series of images on her Instagram account captioned Summer Holiday,
offering a glimpse into the Sussexes’ lives and showing the family taking strolls at the beach, hitting the waves, and exploring on their travels to Europe. Other pictures showed the family at a beach, which many have speculated is near their newly renovated Portugal home, as Meghan also posted a Portuguese restaurant. Their villa is said to be not far from Princess Eugenie’s £3.6million property, where she and husband Jack Brooksbank split their time. Before arriving in the UK, the Sussexes holidayed in Portugal.
Among the lighter moments captured in the photo series, Prince Harry is seen throwing Princess Lilibet into a swimming pool in new photographs shared by the Duchess of Sussex that document the family enjoying their summer holidays. Another photo shows Prince Archie, seven, sitting in the cockpit of a plane surrounded by pilots, as Princess Lilibet is seen strolling through gardens, with her brother and dad up ahead. Archie appears to be every bit the plane enthusiast his dad is, pictured perched in a cockpit with a captain’s hat on, learning to steer.
“Summer Holiday.”
Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex
Additional photos from the trip showed the Duke and Duchess smiling and laugh at dinner together, and another shows Meghan laying on a sun-lounger as she gazes at a dog. In perhaps a nod to the Duchess’s successful Netflix lifestyle show, ‘With love, Meghan’, one photo captures her browsing a homewares shop. Their sweet rescue pup was also included in the post, rounding out a private look at the family’s travels following their high-profile visits to historic royal estates.
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