Prince Harry arrived at Frogmore Cottage Friday afternoon to begin a five-day isolation ahead of the unveiling of a statue of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales next Thursday.
The Duke of Sussex landed in time to serve out his ‘amber list’ quarantine at his former Windsor home. According to the UK Government, the United States is currently on the amber list meaning before you enter England, you must take a COVID test, book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID travel tests to be taken after your arrival, and complete a passenger locator form. Those tasks must be done even if you are vaccinated. Those arriving from amber list countries must normally quarantine for 10 days, but this can end early at five days under “test to release,” which means the traveler must pay for a COVID test on day five in addition to the test on day two.
This marks Harry’s first trip back to the UK since the April death and funeral of his grandfather, Prince Philip. The Prince touched down at London’s Heathrow Airport at 12.38 Friday on Boeing 777-323 on American Airlines flight AA134. The flight left Los Angeles International Airport at about 7.00 pm Thursday night (3.00 am UK time.) A convoy of royal vehicles, including a range rover, left Heathrow with a police escort and protection officers.
Frogmore Cottage was initially gifted to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by The Queen after the couple’s 2018 wedding. They then gave up the property as they stepped back from being senior royals and moved to California. The keys were later handed to Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie who lives at the cottage with her husband Jack Brooksbank, and their son, August, who was born earlier this year. Harry will reportedly stay with the couple during his visit; the cottage has been divided into two sections to make it COVID-safe.
On Thursday 1 July, on what would have been Diana, Princess of Wales’s 60th birthday, the Duke will join his brother, Prince William, to unveil a statue of their late mother. Because of the global health crisis, a palace spokesperson said William and Harry will attend the small event in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden, and there will be very limited attendance.
It’s unknown if the Duchess of Cambridge will attend the ceremony, but it is known the Duchess of Sussex will not be in attendance. The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to the couple’s second child, Lilibet Diana, earlier this month. Close family members of Diana are expected to attend the event along with members of the statue committee, the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley, and garden designer, Pip Morrison.
Further details will be announced in due course.
