Prince Harry’s Most Recent Visit To The UK Was Much More Poignant Than First Realized For THIS Sad Reason

When Prince Harry returned to the United Kingdom to attend the memorial service for his beloved late uncle Lord Robert Fellowes, his stay there turned out to be far more poignant than anybody first realized.

Sure, that trip to the UK involved a very awkward non-meeting with his estranged brother Prince William, which was much of the talk of the gossip world for days after it occurred. But as it turns out, Meghan Markle‘s husband had an underreported homecoming there, too — and it no doubt must have been really emotional.

According to People, when Harry returned to his homeland for the memorial service days ago, he actually stayed at Althorp House for the visit. That name might mean something to you: it’s the ancestral home of the family of his late mother, Princess Diana. And it is currently in the possession of Harry’s uncle and Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer. So, that’s right — Harry stayed at his beloved late mother’s childhood home (and final resting place) during the trip.

Wow.

Knowing how much Harry loved his mother, and knowing how much her premature death affected him and changed the course of his life, we can’t even imagine the kinds of emotions that the stay must have stirred up. Plus, the memorial service for Lord Fellowes was tough, too, considering the late man had been married to Diana’s sister Lady Jane Fellowes and was himself a major influence on Harry’s young life growing up.

Even more crushing, as People points out, was that Lord Fellowes’ memorial was held just two days before the 27th anniversary of Diana’s death. So, Harry returned home not only to deal with (or, not deal with) his estrangement from his older brother, but also to be confronted by his inescapable past at every turn. Oof.

His mother, BTW, is buried on the island that sits in the middle of Round Oval Lake at the Althorp House property. So, that was quite a return to his roots in some of the most difficult and emotional ways.

It is not known for sure whether Harry visited his mother’s grave on this trip, but obviously, that is a possibility. Especially considering how two years ago, during a separate visit to the UK, Harry brought Meghan along to Althorp to visit the gravesite. In his memoir Spare, Harry infamously reflected on that moment with Meghan at the site of his mother’s final resting place:

“No visit to this place was ever easy, but this one… twenty-fifth anniversary. And Meg’s first time. At long last, I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum. We hesitated, hugging, and then I went first. I placed flowers on the grave. Meg gave me a moment, and I spoke to my mother in my head, told her I missed her, asked her for guidance and clarity. Feeling that Meg might also want a moment, I went around the hedge, scanned the pond. When I came back, Meg was kneeling, eyes shut, palms against the stone. I asked, as we walked back to the boat, what she’d prayed for. Clarity, she said. And guidance.”

No doubt this trip back home must have been just as difficult for him as that first one with Meghan. And with a separate memorial service to attend, to boot. And with his ongoing estrangement from Prince William. Sending all the love and light in the world…