Prince Harry prepares for fresh Megxit meetings on Monday after they hit deadlock, forcing him to delay Canada reunion with Meghan Markle and Archie (who he hasn’t seen in nearly a fortnight) - while Queen appears determined on Sandringham drive
- Queen rapped up warm in a head scarf and wore dark glasses as she drove through her Sandringham estate
- Appearance came amid 'deadlock' among aides as they seek to sort out future of Prince Harry and Meghan
- Buckingham Palace was expected to release statement on the future of Prince Harry and Meghan 'imminently'
- But several issues remain to be ironed out like security and titles, while senior aides try and thrash out a deal
- Prince Harry is still in Britain after meeting with the Queen at Sandringham, while Meghan remains in Canada
Prince Harry is preparing for more meetings in the UK, forcing him to delay flying back to Canada to be with his son Archie, who he has not seen in nearly two weeks.
The Queen, who wore a steely expression behind the wheel of her Land Rover at Sandringham on Saturday, had ordered courtiers to hammer out a plan 'in days, not weeks' for a stripped-back Royal role for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
As she drove through her Norfolk estate, Her Majesty wrapped up against the winter chill in a patterned head scarf and dark glasses.
Following a crunch summit between Princes Charles, William and Harry last Monday, she agreed to let the Sussexes step back from official duties and tasked Palace aides with drawing up a blueprint for the couple's future in double-time.
But negotiations have since gone on for five days and Buckingham Palace told MailOnline on Saturday that Harry has further meetings in the UK on Monday, despite his desire to return to Canada to be with Meghan and Archie, who is eight months old.
Harry had been expected to fly back to Canada this weekend following his attendance at the Rugby League World Cup draw at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
He has not seen his son Archie since leaving the $14million Vancouver Island mansion where he and Meghan spent Christmas.
And despite the Queen's desire to find a quick solution to Harry and Meghan's desire to step back from royal life, a source told the Mirror that the talks had hit a 'deadlock' and that there was 'huge pressure' to produce something by the end of this week but that it 'couldn't be done'.
The Queen appeared stony-faced as she drove through Sandringham on Saturday while Harry prepared for more meetings in the UK
As she drove through Sandringham, the monarch was wrapped up against the winter chill in a patterned head scarf as she firmly gripped the steering wheel while wearing dark glasses and pink lipstick
The Queen had ordered a '72-hour' solution to be found to the crisis when talks between her, Prince Harry, Prince Charles and Prince William began last Monday (Pictured: The monarch keeps her hands firmly on the wheel as she drives through Sandringham)
They said: 'The talks have hit a deadlock. There was huge pressure to produce something for the end of the week but it couldn't be done.
'The Queen said it herself, these are complex issues and she is exactly right.'
'Any announcement made in due course will be a halfway house, enough to suggest an agreement has been made between Harry, Meghan, and the rest of the family.'
The Standard quoted senior palace officials who are understood to have been working to resolve the crisis 'at pace'.
But it is thought that talks about the couple's ability to strike big-money deals with corporate giants is adding to the delay.
It emerged on Saturday that Meghan's team pre-approved text and pictures sent out after her carefully-choreographed charity visit in Vancouver earlier this week.
The Duchess of Sussex visited feminist climate change group Justice For Girls in Vancouver on Tuesday in one of the first times she has been seen since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were quitting as senior royals.
Meghan Markle appeared fresh and happy as she drove herself to the airport in Canada on Friday, but was accompanied by a security guard
Prince Harry was pictured in London on Friday after he attended an event at Buckingham Palace. The Queen had recently held a summit meeting with senior members of the royal family
Her visit was publicised on the group's Twitter account but only after Meghan's team apparently gave the go-ahead, The Daily Telegraph reports.
On Friday, Meghan took full advantage of her newfound independence from the Crown as she drove herself to a Canadian airport to pick up a pilates expert pal who jetted in from the US for the weekend.
The Duchess of Sussex was spotted in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com parked outside Victoria International Airport in a Land Rover Discovery on Thursday afternoon.
She appeared to be in high spirits as she chatted with a male companion in the front seat, believed to be personal security, for about 10 minutes until her friend Heather Dorak arrived.
She runs the Pilates Platinum brand, which the Duchess started attending in Los Angeles when she starred in Suits.
The friends were also both pregnant at the same time in late 2018, but their children were not with them at arrivals yesterday afternoon.
Ms Dorak, who hails from San Antonio, Texas, but lives in California, became Meghan's pilates guru and attended the royal wedding in May 2018 with her husband Matt Cohen.
Meghan Markle's team pre-approved text and pictures sent out after her carefully choreographed charity visit when she was given 18ct gold necklace worth £1,300
Meghan Markle's team pre-approved text and pictures sent out after her carefully-choreographed charity visit in Vancouver earlier this week.
The Duchess of Sussex visited feminist climate change group Justice For Girls in Vancouver on Tuesday in one of the first times she has been seen since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were quitting as senior royals.
Her visit was publicised on the group's Twitter account but only after Meghan's team apparently gave the go-ahead, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Meghan Markle's team pre-approved text and pictures sent out after her carefully-choreographed charity visit in Vancouver earlier this week. Pictured: One of the images shared by feminist climate change group Justice For Girls
The charity's co-director Zoe Craig-Sparrow confirmed that that charity had sent the proposed Tweet to the Duchess's team first.
She said: 'And we wanted to ensure that what we were putting forward was an accurate representation of the meeting – we thought it went really well, but obviously we want to make sure that was reciprocated.'
On the visit, Meghan was gifted an 18ct gold and diamond whale tail charm necklace by a First Nations artist.
The Duchess of Sussex visited Justice For Girls in Vancouver on Tuesday in one of the first times she has been seen since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were quitting as senior royals. Pictured: One of the images shared by Justice For Girls
The necklace was designed by Hollie Bartlett, who is a member of the Haisla Nation.
Hollie hand-picked the piece from her collection at Vancouver's Douglas Reynolds Gallery, which specialises in historic and contemporary northwest coast native art.
Meghan's visit to Justice for Girls was one of two charity visits she made that day.
The other was to Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, however she never stepped foot inside the refuge.
Nor did she actually meet with any of the 500 at-risk women who use the Downtown Eastside Center in one of Canada's poorest areas.
On the visit, Meghan was gifted an 18ct gold and diamond whale tail charm necklace by a First Nations artist
Meghan's visit to Justice for Girls was one of two charity visits she made that day. The other was to Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, however she never stepped foot inside the refuge (pictured)
Instead the Duchess of Sussex went to the Vancouver organization's administrative offices in a former hotel building, where she met only with members of staff, acting executive director Kate Gibson said.
Logistics for the visit to the center itself would have been too difficult, Gibson explained.
For one thing the center only allows in 'women and those who self-identify as women' so Royal Protection Officers would have had to stay outside, she said.
She broke cover at the vulnerable women’s centre after a ‘mysterious’ email from a Hotmail account arrived asking if she could drop in.
It came from Meghan's 'assistant’ - not a royal aide, according to the centre's boss Ms Gibson.
On Thursday, Meghan drove herself to a Canadian airport to pick up a pilates-expert friend who jetted in from the US for the weekend.
The Duchess of Sussex was spotted in photos parked outside Victoria International Airport in a Land Rover Discovery.
She appeared to be in high spirits as she chatted with a male companion in the front seat, believed to be personal security, for about 10 minutes until her friend Heather Dorak arrived.
The Duchess of Sussex went to the Vancouver organization's administrative offices in a former hotel building, where she met only with members of staff, acting executive director Kate Gibson (pictured) said
More than 5,000 miles away in London, her husband Harry made his first public appearance since the Megxit bombshell - and potentially his last engagement as a frontline royal - at the draw for the Rugby League World Cup at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
And Harry and Meghan's staff at Frogmore Cottage are reportedly being 'let go', in the surest sign yet the couple will settle permanently in Canada with the Duchess strongly rumoured never to return.
This week, a close friend said: 'Meghan felt she had to escape because living within the royal confines was soul crushing.'
Meghan's friend explained that the 38-year-old feels she can 'finally breathe' since leaving and has free reign over her life again.
They also explained that Meghan felt that living within the royal family confines was 'soul crushing' and she didn't want her son around such a 'toxic environment', deciding to leave in part for his benefit.
Five thousand miles away in London her husband Harry made his first public appearance since the Megxit bombshell - and potentially his last engagement as a frontline royal - at the draw for the Rugby League World Cup at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
And Harry and Meghan's staff at Frogmore Cottage are reportedly being 'let go', in the surest sign yet the couple will settle permanently in Canada with the Duchess strongly rumoured never to return.
More than £2.4million of tax payers money was spent on the couple's Grade II listed house, according to royal accounts that were published last summer.
It is understood officials are yet to iron out several key issues, including the Sussexes' security, titles and future finances
The bank of Dad is draining Charles: RICHARD KAY on how the Prince of Wales has had to dip into his own private reserves and give Harry and William around £2.5 million each
By Richard Kay for the Daily Mail
As fireworks arced across the night sky over Windsor Great Park, Prince Charles oozed with paternal pride.
‘My darling old Harry, I’m so happy for you,’ he had declared in his father-of-the-groom speech as the lavish celebrations for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding moved to its extravagant finale.
Fast forward 12 months and the Prince of Wales was in a rather less benign mood as he leafed through pages of accounts relating to his son’s expenditure.
The bills for the wedding, the bills relating to the considerable sums spent on fixtures and fittings at the Sussexes’ home Frogmore Cottage — quite distinct from the taxpayer-funded structural renovations — and the ongoing bills for Harry and Meghan’s allowance that he also provides, were adding up.
Prince Charles is pictured above walking Meghan Markle down the aisle on the day of her wedding to his son Prince Harry
Sources now say the money Charles pays to his sons is 'draining him' Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Savannah Phillips and Prince George of Cambridge
Beyond a frown, he gave little away. ‘His attitude is always just pay what needs to be paid and move on,’ says a former aide. ‘It’s usually the path of least resistance when it’s to do with the boys.’
But those familiar with some of the eye-watering numbers which have crossed the royal desk at Clarence House say there is another side to the story.
One figure went so far as to say that the money he spends, not just on Harry and Meghan but also on financing William and Kate, was ‘draining him’.
Officially, the brothers and their households are funded out of Charles’s Duchy of Cornwall estate, but, in fact, the Prince has at times had to dip into his own private reserves.
Insiders speak of the ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ the Prince made available to furnish the couple’s Windsor home (Frogmore Cottage above) after their decision to abandon Kensington Palace
It is thought the last time he had to do that on a significant level was in meeting Princess Diana’s £17.5 million divorce settlement in 1996, for which he also had to borrow from the Queen.
Within a year following Diana’s death, that money, minus inheritance tax handed over to the Treasury, had ironically been transferred into trusts for his sons.
Against this backdrop it is no wonder that the Prince has been so dismayed by Harry’s decision to turn his back on life within the Royal Family for an increasingly uncertain future outside it.
One of his central worries is just how — or rather who — is going to finance their new lives.
Money may not be the root of this crisis, but it is contingent to it. In announcing their decision to stand down as senior royals, the couple said it was their intention to be financially independent.
While this certainly represents a headache for the monarchy with its thinly disguised inference that Harry and Meghan may become royals for sale, Prince Charles’s money-men may be privately relieved.
At one stage he was paying the Sussexes more than William and his family. That figure is now understood to be around the same, with Harry and William each receiving approximately £2.5 million.
However, the Prince has let it be known that his funds are not inexhaustible and that there is a limit to how far and how much he can pay.
Insiders speak of the ‘hundreds of thousands of pounds’ the Prince made available to furnish the couple’s Windsor home after their decision to abandon Kensington Palace.
This was in addition to the £2.4 million of public money used to convert the 19th century property from five staff flats into a single home.
‘As for the wedding, it cost him a small fortune,’ a source said. ‘They were not small sums.’
From the Michelin-starred caterers who provided the evening’s black-tie dinner for 200, and the glass marquee, to the festival-themed food stalls and bars and cars and coaches to ferry the guests around, it was all paid for by the Prince.
According to a source, the figures involved in providing for both boys have in recent times been flagged up to the Prince by his accounting staff on more than one occasion.
‘There’s usually a raised eyebrow, but the Prince always just signs them off,’ says the source.
All the same, he has made it clear that while he will continue to fund his sons, there can be, as one courtier put it, ‘no blank cheque’.
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