The Duke & Duchess of Sussex quietly visited the Queen in Windsor on Thursday

I have been laughing since the news came out, it’s truly the funniest thing ever. Y’all know how Salt Island spent the entire week throwing a full-blown melodramatic tantrum about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s trip to the Netherlands? Y’all know how the argument from royal reporters was “how dare Harry not bother to visit his grandmother”? Well, Harry and Meghan stopped by Windsor Castle on Thursday morning, having (apparently) flown across the Atlantic on Tuesday or Wednesday. They stopped by to see Queen Elizabeth II, then they left and flew on to The Hague, where they’re fully booked for days.

????????: A Sussex spokesperson confirms that, prior to arriving in The Hague for @InvictusGamesNL, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan stopped in the UK this morning to visit the Queen. It was a Windsor visit that their team recently revealed the duke “hoped to do”.

— Omid Scobie (@scobie) April 14, 2022

Harry and Meghan visit The Queen. A Spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex says “We can confirm that they visited The Duke’s grandmother, as we previously said he hoped to do. They stopped by the UK on their way to The Hague to attend The Invictus Games.”

— Juliet Rieden (@JulietRieden) April 14, 2022

The best, best part of this is that none of the royal reporters had any idea. No one leaked the visit ahead of time, which tells me that Kensington Palace had no idea – and William and Kate are still on vacation too – and I would guess that Clarence House was probably not told either. This was truly Harry calling up his grandmother and saying “Meg and I would love to stop by on our way to the Netherlands, but we will only do it if you can keep the visit on the downlow.” And the Queen was like “can do, can’t wait to see you.” She didn’t tell anyone and neither did her aides. Shocking. There are also no photos, apparently. Which is what the royal reporters cared about the most, the visual. Now those same reporters have to contend with the fact that Harry and Meghan simply stopped by to see the Queen and no one else and didn’t leave a f–king trace.

The Mail’s coverage is hysterical as they try to detail every major “controversy” for the Sussexes, all to admit that the Queen was probably very happy to meet with them, her much loved grandson and his wife. The Mail also claims that Harry and Meghan actually arrived on Wednesday and quietly spent the night at Frogmore Cottage with Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, then the Sussexes walked over to the castle. Where they were allegedly spotted by churchgoers there for the Royal Maundy service. If that timeline is correct, then Harry and Meghan timed their visit for when they knew Charles and Camilla were busy too (Charles did the Maundy Money thing at church). The Mail also says that Archie and Lilibet were not traveling with them and likely stayed at home in Montecito.

As for today’s activities, Harry and Meghan have a full schedule in The Hague. They’re meeting with the Ukrainian Invictus team, and they’re scheduled to appear at back-to-back receptions. One reception for Invictus friends and family, and another reception for dignitaries hosted by the city and Dutch Ministry of Defense.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid and WENN.