Harry and Meghan are visiting the UK for the first time since they ended the royal gig two years ago

Harry and Meghan will later perform at the Invictus Games in the Netherlands after stopping in the UK to visit the Queen.

The couple, who have not been in the UK together since stepping down as senior royals more than two years ago, are also said to have met with the Prince of Wales.

The couple are understood to have been at Windsor Castle on Thursday, having flown in from their home in the US.

Harry and Meghan’s trip to the UK comes after the couple were absent from the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in London last month.

Harry is filing a lawsuit against the Home Office after being told he would no longer receive the same level of personal protective equipment when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.

The Duke wants to bring his children to visit, but he and his family are “unable to return to his homeland” because it is too dangerous, his legal representative said.

A spokesman for Harry confirmed in early March that he would miss his grandfather’s service but that he hoped to visit the Queen soon.

On Thursday night, a spokesman for the couple confirmed they visited the Queen ahead of her appearance at the Invictus Games, which open in The Hague this weekend.

Joe Little, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, described the visit to Windsor as “a very welcome, albeit long overdue, step” on the part of Harry and Meghan.

Earlier this week Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection at Scotland Yard, told the PA news agency that the idea of ​​Harry being unable to come to the UK for security reasons was “pure unadulterated nonsense”, adding that the Duke was ” not an expert on safety”.

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Discussing the likely security arrangements in The Hague, Mr Davies said: “The truth is I have no doubt that he will be protected, whether he is taking his own team or whether the Dutch authorities are giving him some sort of VIP status.

“The truth is, when there is a risk, both countries – ours and the Netherlands – have sophisticated risk assessment systems.

“This country has determined that he is no longer endangered. That may or may not be true, but people far better qualified than I am now can make that choice, and they never make it lightly.”

He said the Ministry of Defense is involved in looking after royals in the Netherlands and while there is a Royal Protection Command it is not as large or experienced as the UK squad.

Meghan’s participation in the Invictus Games during the first days of the event was confirmed by a spokesman for the couple on Monday.

Her trip to the UK and Netherlands is her first to Europe since she quit as a senior working royal in 2020.

Harry flew back from California without the then heavily pregnant Meghan to attend his grandfather’s funeral in Windsor in April 2021.

He most recently returned to the UK to unveil the statue of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, with the Duke of Cambridge on July 1, 2021.

Harry moved to the US with Meghan to start a new life of personal and financial freedom.

The couple’s controversial TV interview with Oprah Winfrey left the monarchy facing a crisis in March 2021 amid the lingering fallout of the Megxit.

Harry and Meghan accused an unnamed king of racism against their son Archie before he was born and the institution for not helping Meghan when she committed suicide.

The pair are expected to make an appearance on the ‘yellow carpet’ at a reception for friends and family at the Invictus Games on Friday.

A film crew is expected to follow the couple through the games as part of filming for a Netflix series called Heart Of Invictus.

The Invictus Games was where Harry and Meghan made their first public appearance together almost five years ago.

Meghan made her first appearance at an official engagement Harry attended on September 24, 2017 when she attended the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada, although the couple sat about 18 seats apart.

The following day, the two showed up hand in hand to make their first public appearance together at wheelchair tennis.

Harry founded the games to support the rehabilitation of injured or ill military members and veterans from around the world by challenging them to compete in sporting events similar to the Paralympics.