Prince Harry may have secretly met with his cousin, Princess Eugenie after the Invictus Games. Photo / AP
Prince Harry may have secretly met with his cousin, Princess Eugenie after the Invictus Games. Photo / AP
Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, may have had a secret royal encounter during their time in Europe.
Last week, as the couple made their way home from the Invictus Games in in Dusseldorf, Germany, the Daily Mail reported they took a “lightning romanticescape” to the village of Melides in the Alentejo region of Portugal where they may have met up with members of the royal family.
Reporting that Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank have a home in the area, speculation of the possible run-in came after Harry and Meghan were spotted a luxury Portuguese resort - a spot Eugenie is understood to spend a lot of time at.
The UK news outlet reported the Californian based royals enjoyed a “short stay” at the CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club, where Brooksbank works in the marketing and sales team.
Further fuelling the rumours of a reunion, Portuguese magazine Nova Gente reported the visit was a “mega-secret operation”, while Alentejo Tourism Board also confirmed the couple’s visit - however they could not confirm if the royal couples met up.
Princess Eugenie and Prince Harry have always been close due to shared experiences they had as children. Photo / Getty Images
The outlet reported, “They arrived in Portugal without their children and, as soon as they landed, they headed to Alentejo and more precisely to Melides.
“The choice of this location would have been related to a possible invitation from Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew, who, since the start of last year, has been spending a lot of time in this part of the Alentejo because of her husband’s work.”
Speaking to the news outlet, head of the Alentejo Tourism Board, Jose Santosy, said, “They were actually in Alentejo, at that resort.
“I imagine they really enjoyed it and given their family relationship with the place, I am sure they will return to enjoy the wonders that this region has to offer.
“I don’t know what they were doing, but I know the great experiences they had at their disposal in that part of the region and I’m sure they enjoyed them.”
Harry and his cousin, Eugenie have maintained a close bond despite his fractured relationship with the rest of the royal family, and she even starred in he and Meghan’s US$100 million Netflix series released last year.
Several clips used in the documentary showed Eugenie visiting the couple at their Montecito home as well as photos from a Halloween party the Duke and Duchess of Sussex held at Frogmore Cottage before they went public with their relationship.
Meghan and Harry shared never-before-seen pictures of themselves partying with Eugenie in their Netflix special. Photo / Netflix
It comes after a source toldPeople magazine last month that Harry and Eugenie are “best friends” and “talk constantly”.
Nigel Cawthorne, author of Prince Andrew, previously told Femail that the two bonded over shared experiences as young royals, but also as they had to experience their parent’s relationships being spoken about constantly in the media.
“From an early age, Eugenie had to deal with the embarrassing headlines of both her father and mother,” he said adding, “Harry had to deal with his share of headlines, too, and this bond between them was a great consolation for them.”
