Yesterday was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday. The left-behind Windsors gathered in London, first for a memorial service at the British Museum, then a reception at Buckingham Palace. The Prince and Princess of Wales didn’t even bother attending the memorial service, but they gurned and grumped their way through the reception. At one point, I wondered “did anyone think to extend an invitation to Prince Harry for the services for his grandmother?” Silly question, I know. Of course not. But that didn’t stop Harry from marking the occasion in a quiet, lovely way:
Senior members of the British royal family gathered in London today to celebrate what would have been Queen Elizabeth’s 100th birthday, but across the pond in Montecito, California, Prince Harry is spending the day in private.
However, Town & Country can confirm that the Duke of Sussex sent flowers to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle today, where Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest in September 2022. The late Queen is buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel alongside her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother; her husband, Prince Philip; and her sister, Princess Margaret.
This is not his first time having flowers brought to her burial site; he has had them both sent and hand-delivered them on multiple prior occasions. In 2023, on the one year anniversary of her death, Prince Harry visited St. George’s Chapel privately during a visit to the UK, and in 2025, while back in the country, he also paid his respects at his late grandmother’s grave on the third anniversary of her death.
Upon Queen Elizabeth’s passing in September 2022, Prince Harry wrote in a tribute, “I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings—from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren. I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between. You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over.”
While Harry never specified this in his memoir, I got the impression that, when he lived in the UK, he visited his mother’s grave more often than his brother too. I also thought it was so moving when Harry stopped by QEII’s memorial chapel/tomb in 2023. I remember the outrage about it too, the left-behinds tried to act like he was stealing focus from THEIR mourning-keenery. Once again, Harry outshines them with simple, dignified, respectful acts. On Tuesday, the Windsors were making horses’ asses out of themselves to send out a message to an audience of two: Harry and Meghan. The message was “we don’t need you, we’ll honor and exploit QEII’s memory all on our own!” Oh well.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
