Prince Harry’s movements on the day of the Queen’s death as he honours late grandmother at WellChild Awards

Prince Harry paid a special tribute to his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on the eve of the first anniversary of her death.

On Thursday night, the Duke of Sussex attended the annual WellChild charity awards ceremony, where he gave a speech and reflected on the day she died - 8 September 2022.

At the time of Elizabeth's death last year, Harry was due to attend the 2022 iteration of the awards, but he cancelled his appearance to join the rest of the Royal Family in Balmoral after it emerged that doctors were "concerned" for the late monarch's health.

In his speech last night, the duke said: "As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away. As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her. And that’s precisely why I know, exactly one year on, she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we're together continuing to spotlight such an incredible community."

Today, the royal has continued his tributes and been pictured by a member of public paying his respects to his late grandmother at St. George's Chapel in Windsor - where Harry and wife Meghan Markle married in 2018.

Harry will next travel to Dusseldorf for this year's Invictus Games, which begin tomorrow. It's not confirmed if he'll see other family members during his UK visit but will be joined by Meghan in Germany.

Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death: Read more

• William and Kate pay touching tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on first anniversary of her death: ‘We all miss you’ (Evening Standard, 3-min read)

• Prince Harry and King Charles release touching statements one year on from Queen Elizabeth II's death (Cosmo, 2-min read)

• Queen Elizabeth's standout fashion moments, on the first anniversary of her death (Yahoo Life UK, 16-min read)

Looking back: Harry’s original September 2022 plans

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the UK on 5 September 2022. They had a busy itinerary ahead of them, as they attended the One Young World Summit in Manchester before flying to Dusseldorf for celebrations around the Invictus Games.

They returned to London shortly after for the WellChild Awards on 8 September 2022.

News of the Queen’s ill health reaches Harry

According Harry's explosive memoir Spare, which was released in January, he and Meghan were in their former UK home, Frogmore Cottage, when he received the news that his grandmother was very unwell.

Recalling how he was told, Harry wrote: "That day – September 8, 2022 – a call came in around lunchtime. Unknown number. 'Hello?' It was Pa [King Charles]. Granny’s health had taken a turn. She was up at Balmoral, of course."

Harry races to Balmoral

Upon hearing that the late monarch was in a "worrying" condition, Elizabeth's children and grandchildren rushed to her side.

Charles and Camilla, then the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Anne, Princess Royal, were already in Scotland at the time and were the first senior royals to arrive at Balmoral.

Prince William, alongside the Duke of York and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – who were the Earl and Countess of Wessex at the time – arrived at Aberdeen airport around 4pm and drove to Balmoral, arriving around 5pm.

In Spare, the duke said he reached out to his brother immediately after receiving the call from Charles to ask about his and Kate’s plans to travel to Scotland, but received "no response".

Harry arrived at the Scottish estate at 7.52pm, almost an hour and a half after Buckingham Palace announced the death of the Queen at 6.30pm. He arrived at the airport after chartering a private jet from London’s Luton airport. He wrote that he first found out his grandmother had passed from the BBC website just as his plane was descending.

Meghan stays at Frogmore Cottage

Meghan did not travel to Balmoral with Harry when the Queen died and instead, remained in Frogmore Cottage. Harry claimed in his memoir that he received another call from his father telling him not to bring Meghan to Balmoral.

"He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical, disrespectful, and I wasn't having it. Don't ever speak about my wife that way," Harry wrote. "He stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn't want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn't coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn't."

Harry’s arrival at Balmoral

Photos published in The Daily Mail show Harry been driven in a black car from the airport up to Balmoral.

According to the duke, Charles, Camilla and William had all left Balmoral to have dinner at Birkhall, the King’s home on the estate, by the time he arrived. He said he was greeted by Princess Anne, who informed him that Charles and William had already left, and spent the evening with her, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward instead.

Harry recalled being asked by Anne if he "wanted to see Granny" and she led him to the Queen’s bedroom.

"I braced myself, went in," he wrote. "The room was dimly lit, unfamiliar – I'd been inside it only once in my life. I moved ahead uncertainly, and there she was. I stood, frozen, staring. I stared and stared.

"It was difficult, but I kept on, thinking how I'd regretted not seeing my mother at the end. Years of lamenting that lack of proof, postponing my grief for want of proof. Now I thought: Proof. Careful what you wish for."

Watch: How we mourned the Queen a year ago

The aftermath of the Queen’s death

Harry returned to Frogmore Cottage on a commercial flight from Aberdeen to London the following day. He recalled how his fellow passengers offered their "deepest sympathies" and "stopped to offer a kind word" during the short flight.

Later, he and Meghan extended their UK visit to take part in the national mourning for the Queen. The couple attended Elizabeth’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey on 19 September.