Royal 'protocol' may have cost Prince Harry his final farewell with the Queen: 'He hadn't even been called'

Royal protocol may have caused Prince Harry to miss a final goodbye with his beloved "granny", Queen Elizabeth II, it has been claimed.

A palace source told The Times "Harry hadn't even been called" by the time his brother, Prince William, jetted to Scotland.

The Prince of Wales travelled to Balmoral Castle in his own private plane with the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex.

The media outlet claims William, heir to the British throne, was called to Balmoral by his father, King Charles, in his constitutional capacity as a Counsellor of State.

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"In the event that The Queen cannot undertake her official duties as Sovereign on a temporary basis due to illness or absence abroad, two or more Counsellors of State are appointed by Letters Patent to act in Her Majesty's place," a statement on the Royal Family's website said.

Senior members of the British royals rushed to Balmoral last Thursday hours before Buckingham Palace announced doctors were "concerned" for Her Majesty's health.

The Times reports Harry only dashed to Balmoral after the palace announced that the Queen would remain under "medical supervision".

While the royal family were all aware of the Queen's grave health, they did not expect her health to deteriorate so quickly.

READ MORE: Queen's children unite in public for first time since her death during procession through Edinburgh

To put this in context, two days before her death, the Queen held a meeting at Balmoral Castle with new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss.

Meghan Markle remained in London after it was known the Princess of Wales was not accompanying William to Balmoral.

In an interview with Today, Dickie Arbiter royal commentator and former British royal family press secretary, explained the royals' whereabouts as Her Majesty died.

"King Charles III and Queen Camilla are really just down the road at Birkhall, which is his Scottish home given to him by his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who died in 2002," Arbiter said.

READ MORE: Prince Harry farewells 'Granny' in heartfelt statement

"So he would have rushed there pretty quickly."

Arbiter said the rest of the family would have headed towards Northolt Airport, just outside of London, and boarded a plane to Aberdeen Airport. It's then an hour's drive to Balmoral Castle.

"It was quite interesting and I find extraordinary that Prince Harry wasn't on the same aircraft, and making his own way there, and probably arrived, if indeed he has arrived, after the death of his grandmother, which, is very sad in the circumstances," Arbiter continued.

Despite being in the United Kingdom, Harry arrived at the castle 90 minutes after Her Majesty's passing was officially announced.

READ MORE: Royal commentator speculates Windsor walkabout delay was so Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could get ready

Overnight, Harry farewelled the Queen in a heartfelt statement, reflecting on "cherished" time they spent together and with his family.

In the message posted on the website of his foundation Archewell, he remembered his late grandmother's "infectious smile" and spoke of her first encounters with his wife the Duchess of Sussex and their two children.

"Let us echo the words she spoke after the passing of her husband, Prince Philip, words which can bring comfort to all of us now: 'Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings'," he wrote.

"Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings—from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren.

"I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over."

In June last year, Harry and Meghan welcomed a baby girl who they named Lilibet, in homage to Her Majesty's childhood nickname.

The Queen met Lilibet for the first time during the celebrations for her Platinum Jubilee in June.

In a touching show of unity following the Queen's death, brothers, Harry and William, were joined by their wives for a rare 'Fab Four' walkabout outside Windsor Castle.

It was the first time the royal couples had appeared in public together since 2020.

William reportedly made contact with Harry and Meghan ahead of the impromptu moment.

“Both he and the Princess of Wales felt that the focus should solely be on this period of deep mourning and nothing else,” an insider told The Times. 

“That the focus should only be on his late grandmother.”