Why Prince Harry's meeting with the Queen was 'purposefully kept a secret from all palace aides'

Prince Harry's meeting with the Queen was deliberately kept under wraps from palace aides says royal insider, Omid Scobie, who has explained why the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's trip to Windsor Castle had to be private.

• Prince Harry and Meghan visited the Queen in a lowkey visit ahead of the Invictus Games in early April.
• It has been revealed that this meeting, which was kept secret from the public, was also kept a secret from palace aides for a very particular reason. 
• In other royal news, 70 facts about the Queen to celebrate 70 monumental years on the throne.

Omid Scobie, royal expert, and author of the novel, Finding Freedom, has revealed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's visit to Her Majesty at Windsor Castle was kept a secret from palace aides for a very particular reason.

The royal expert told Yahoo! "while the Sussexes and the Queen have been in regular contact over the phone or virtually, their recent in-person meeting (which was purposefully kept a secret from all palace aides) was Harry’s first chance in a year to truly speak privately with his grandmother."

The royal commentator added that this was a truly private moment, "without fear of anyone overhearing or wandering in the background of a video call."

Omid explained that the Prince has a deep mistrust of those surrounding Her Majesty and has reportedly previously commented to a close aide that, "these people have their own agendas, they work for the institution and certainly don’t care about us as family."

The royal author also revealed that while he was researching his book, sources informed him that Prince Harry and Meghan were unable to meet with the Queen on various occasions as the royal staff would deliberately overlook Her Majesty's schedule and would give the Prince the incorrect dates. 

Omid said, "I remember how my jaw dropped when a friend of the couple gave me a play-by-play account of how the Queen’s private secretary, Edward Young, went out of his way to prevent the couple from visiting the monarch in Sandringham."

The expert added, "It appears that, as hard as Harry tried to arrange a time, his team was informed that the monarch was 'busy all week'. The Queen, despite having been the one to invite her grandson, was told by Young that the once-available diary dates were no longer free."

The royal expert concluded by stating that during the Duke's interview with Hoda Kobt for Today, Prince Harry discussed his devotion to the Queen and his need to know she's 'protected and got the right people around her.' Omid argued that given the 'famously unsympathetic institution the Queen lives within," Prince Harry has "every reason to worry." 

The author defended the Prince, adding, "as a grandson and sixth-in-line to the throne, it would only be natural for Harry to question whether every person in her daily orbit has her best interests at heart."