Prince Harry Is Making A Solo Trip To London One Year After Queen Elizabeth's Death

It has been nearly one year since Queen Elizabeth died at her beloved Balmoral Castle at the age of 96 years old. As the longest reigning monarch in British history, her death changed the landscape of her country, right down to the currency. It also changed her family, of course. Her son became King Charles III, her grandson Prince William became Prince of Wales, and his younger brother Prince Harry’s children became Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Now Prince Harry is returning to the country of his birth one year after his grandmother’s death, and royal fans are wondering if the new little prince and princess will join him.

While we don’t know yet whether or not Prince Harry’s wife Meghan Markle will accompany him to the UK, the charity WellChild confirmed recently that the Duke of Sussex will be returning to deliver a speech at the annual charity awards ceremony in London on Sept. 7.

Prince Harry has long been a supporter of the charity and been a regular attendee at the awards ceremony honoring the achievements of seriously ill young people. He missed the ceremony last year as it fell on Sept. 8, the day Queen Elizabeth died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland. He flew to be with the rest of his family in Scotland at the time of her death.

This year, Prince Harry will return to the WellChild event and said in a statement that he is “honored to attend this year’s ceremony and celebrate their incredible work.” He is expected to spend time with each of the award winners and their families, as he has done in the past, including a visit with Meghan Markle in 2019.

This visit marks the second time Prince Harry has returned to the United Kingdom since the release of his memoir Spare in early 2023, where he detailed his life as the second son of the heir to the throne of England and his decision to step away from his senior royal role in 2020 to move to California. He returned in the spring to watch his father King Charles’ coronation, which coincided with his son Archie’s fourth birthday. His wife and children did not join him at the coronation, which probably tells us that they will not join him when he returns in September either.