Prince Harry reveals he found out about Queen’s death online, Charles told Meghan Markle ‘not to come’

Prince Harry’s book reveals he found out about his grandmother’s death on the BBC website.

The 38-year-old Duke of Sussex claims in his upcoming memoir Spare, which has been leaked ahead of its January 10 release, that he rushed to Balmoral after hearing of Queen Elizabeth II’s ailing health.

But when he landed, he checked the news site to discover she had died, and his father Charles was now King of England.

Harry says when he finally arrived at Balmoral Castle, where the Queen died peacefully aged 96, he was welcomed by his aunt, Princess Anne, before going to see his grandmother on her deathbed.

“I stayed in one place without moving, gazing at her for a long time, gathered strength and continued going forward,” Harry writes.

The father of two said he whispered to his grandmother that he “hoped she would be happy” and that she would now be with “grandpa” Prince Philip, who died a year prior aged 99.

He also told her he “admired her for having fulfilled her duties until the very end”.

Further, Harry confirmed reports that circulated in the press at the time, saying Charles urged him not to bring his wife Meghan Markle with him to Balmoral. The Sussexes had been staying at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor during their one-week Europe tour.

After Buckingham Palace issued a statement about the Queen’s declining health, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the duo would both be “travelling to Scotland” together.

Charles was said to have discovered the Sussexes plan to head to Scotland together via the media, and Harry has revealed he called him shortly after.

“Then my father called again. He told me I was welcome at Balmoral, but … without her,” he writes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet members of the public at Windsor Castle, following the death of Queen Elizabeth. Photo / AP

He adds: “He started to explain his reasons, but they didn’t make any sense at all, and it was disrespectful as well. I did not tolerate it from him. Don’t even think about talking about my wife like that.

“Repentant, he said, stammering, that he simply didn’t want the place to be full of people. Nobody’s wife was going to go, not even Kate, he told me, so Meg shouldn’t either.”

Kate Middleton did not join Prince William in Balmoral.

The Queen’s four children including Charles, Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were at Balmoral, however it’s understood only Charles and Anne were present when she died.

Among the most damning claims in Spare include Harry’s retelling of a physical fight with his brother Prince William in 2019, losing his virginity to an older woman when he was 17, and killing a total of 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.

It was earlier revealed millions had been spent on stopping any leaks of Harry’s book before its release, in security measures as intense as those previously used for Harry Potter book releases.