'William Ignored Him': New Prince of Wales Shunned Prince Harry on the Day Queen Elizabeth II Died

Even as Queen Elizabeth II lay dying, Prince William was determined to give his estranged, younger brother, Prince Harry, the cold shoulder.

"It was upsetting to witness," a Sussex source spilled. "[Harry] was completely by himself on this."

The details behind what happened with Harry and Meghan Markle on that sad late summer day in September 2022 are recounted in Sussex biographer Omid Scobie's new book — Endgame, which is a follow-up to 2020's Finding Freedom.

"'You should answer it,'" Meghan told him. He tapped accept just before it stopped. Harry hadn’t spoken to his father much that year, but this was not the time for any father-and-son tension. Charles told him he and Camilla were about to leave Dumfries House for Balmoral, where Princess Anne was already by the Queen’s side," Scobie wrote when describing an unlisted phone call Harry received on the morning of September 8.

The book continued: "He told Harry to make his way to Scotland immediately. William, whom Charles had just spoken to, was supposedly working on arranging travel. Harry sent a text message to his brother asking how he and Kate planned to get to Scotland and whether they could travel together. No response."

"Charles had cited 'protocol,' but the reality was that Kate chose to stay back to pick up the children from their first day at a new school," Scobie added. '"They just didn’t want Meghan there,' said a former Palace aide. Meghan, a friend added, 'could sense she wasn’t wanted.'"

With the king-to-be falling back on various royal protocols as an apparent excuse, the soon-to-be Prince of Wales allegedly outright snubbed his younger brother during his time of need.

The author observed: "'William ignored him,' said a family source. 'He clearly didn’t want to see his brother.' Princess Eugenie reached out to Harry to see if he had any more information about their grandmother. She had heard from another family member that it was 'time' but knew little more. With no invite forthcoming from any of the family members, Harry eventually located an available option — a private charter costing [$37,000] from Luton Airport, a 40-minute drive from Frogmore without traffic."

The Duke of Sussex ended up arriving at Balmoral nearly five hours after his grandmother died, and his father immediately became King Charles III. At the moment of accession, Harry and Meghan's two children also instantly became a prince and princess since their grandfather was now the monarch. The fifth in line to the throne ended up learning about Elizabeth II's passing like the rest of the world did, through social media and news outlets.

Page Six reported on excerpts from Endgame.