Royal rift on show as Sussexes’ children missing in late Queen’s final photos
The photograph of “Gan-Gan” surrounded by her beaming, fresh-faced grandchildren and great-grandchildren is a delightfully warm portrait that says more than a thousand words.
There is the matriarch of this extraordinary family, nestled on the sofa in a cluttered sitting room at her beloved Balmoral, at ease in her off-duty attire, glasses in her lap.
Taken just a few weeks before her death, we now know that the late Queen was in the last flush of life, making the most of what she perhaps knew would be her final holiday, the last time she would see many of these children.
The homely, jolly image was taken by the Princess of Wales and released to mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s 97th birthday on Friday.
But while it will undoubtedly be lauded, there are notable absentees.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were more than 5,000 miles away in Montecito, California – the only members of the immediate family who did not spend precious time with Queen Elizabeth last summer.
Reports swirled at the time that Balmoral staff had been told to expect the Sussexes at some point during the break.
But, in the event, they were a no-show, with some sources suggesting they had never been invited.
To cap off this sad tale, we now know that Prince Harry failed to make it to his grandmother’s bedside on the day she died, despite a desperate, last-minute dash from Windsor.
The Sussexes had flown over to the UK on Sept 3, five days before the Queen died.
Archie and Lilibet are not the only great-grandchildren absent from this family portrait – Princess Eugenie’s son August and Princess Beatrice’s daughter Sienna are also missing.
But the Yorks did all spend valuable time at Balmoral last August, along with both Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York.
The Sussexes had flown back with their children for the Platinum Jubilee in June, the one-and-only time one-year-old Lilibet met her namesake.
The late Queen is said to have banned Harry and Meghan from taking a professional photographer to Windsor Castle to capture the moment amid fears that any picture would be shared with US television networks.
The Sussexes may one day release their own family snaps of their children with the late Queen.
But for now, we are reliant on the Princess’s deft hand and meticulous eye to depict the monarch not as head of state but as grandmother – and great-grandmother – surrounded by the younger generation.
The 96-year-old is pictured sandwiched between Mia Tindall, nine – with her little brother Lucas, who turned two last month, on her lap – and Savannah Phillips, 12.
Princess Charlotte, seven, beams confidently from behind her, flanked by her brother, Prince George, nine, who is now second in line to the throne, and Isla Phillips, 11.
At the end of the row are Prince Louis, who turns five on Sunday, and Lena Tindall, four, looking as cheeky as each other.
Standing behind them are the children of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, 19, and James, Earl of Wessex, 15.
After her death, the late Queen’s children recalled their fond memories of holidays together.
Prince Edward said that “the happiest times inevitably that we’d spend together would be on holidays, so Balmoral and Sandringham stand out very, very clearly as favourite places because of the time we spent together as a family”.
This snap is just the way Queen Elizabeth would want to be remembered; relaxed in her tartan skirt and cardy, alongside the Royal family of the future: the joyful, carefree children who will one day take on the baton.
