Harry arrived in Scotland solo and left solo the day after Queen Elizabeth II's death.
Buckingham Palace doesn't want the royal rift between Prince Harry and his royal family to overshadow the 10 days of mourning following Queen Elizabeth II's death, which could explain why Harry left Balmoral early.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl tells ET that, yes, it's inevitable that the ongoing feud between Harry and the family "has become a very important part of the narrative." That being said, it's quite possible Harry's only interaction with the family is limited to his grieving the loss of his grandmother, royal rift set aside.
"I think it speaks volumes that Harry was seen leaving Balmoral and arriving at Balmoral on his own," Nicholl said. "He looked absolutely grief-stricken and devastated when he left Aberdeen this morning."
Harry was seen arriving in Scotland solo, but only after Her Majesty died Thursday afternoon. The next day, Harry was seen boarding a plane heading back to London.
"We know that despite the problems that he had with his brother and his father, he remained very close to the queen right up until her death and he will be absolutely devastated by the loss," Nicholl added. "He left Balmoral at 8:30 probably just after a very quick breakfast this morning."
Nicholl previously told ET that the queen's death will hopefully lead to the brothers making amends.
"I think there is every hope that this will hopefully trigger some sort of reconciliation between these two brothers, who for the past 18 months have really been brothers at war," she said.
While Meghan Markle was not invited with the rest of the family to be with Queen Elizabeth in her final hours, expect to see her over the next couple of weeks as the nation mourns Elizabeth, Nicholl said.
"We're expecting them to be part of the official funeral arrangements over the coming days," Nicholl said. "We're expecting Meghan to be a part of the family coming together over the coming 10 days and, of course, everything is going to be watched; every nuance; every bit of chemistry closely analyzed."
In his first address to the nation as the new monarch, King Charles III expressed "love" for Harry and Meghan, though Charles addressed them simply as "Harry and Meghan," and that may be telling.
"Now that Charles is king, Harry's children -- because he is the son of the sovereign -- are automatically legally entitled to Prince and Princess, so Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet," Nicholl explained. "But Charles does also have the power to revoke those titles, and I think it's worth pointing out that while he addressed Harry and Meghan with great warmth in his speech, he didn't acknowledge them by their official titles: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex."
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