Prince Harry touches down in US: Duke of Sussex arrives back in LA

Prince Harry has touched down in the US after spending the last week in Britain for the unveiling of a statue to his mother Princess Diana.

The Duke of Sussex landed at Los Angeles airport on Saturday morning to be reunited with his wife Meghan Markle, son Archie and daughter Lilibet Diana.

The 36-year-old donned a grey baseball cap, white shirt and had a face covering on as he slung a bag over his shoulder as he left a white Chevrolet.

Prince Harry had carried out his ‘amber list’ quarantine at his former Windsor home on arrival in the UK – before being released on day five after receiving a negative Covid test.

This meant he had just two days out of quarantine in England before travelling back to California to reunite with Meghan and their children.

The Duke had flown to Britain to unveil a statue of his beloved mother with Prince William on what would have been her 60th birthday on Thursday.

The brothers put their bitter personal animosity to one side for just over an hour to honour Diana, Princess of Wales before Harry made a swift exit.

It is not known if Harry met with the Queen – who had returned to Windsor from Scotland on Thursday – while in the UK.

There were also rumours of a ‘lads’ lunch’ organised with former school and Army friends, but whether this went ahead has not been confirmed.

The Duke of Sussex was spotted as he landed at LAX on Saturday morning following his flight from Heathrow yesterday.

The Prince used a VIP service upon arrival which saw him whisked off the plane and on to the tarmac in his new homeland.

Exclusive pictures for MailOnline show him getting out of a white Chevrolet wearing a grey baseball cap, white shirt, dark trousers and grey New Balance trainers.

He was guided from the road towards the terminal by what appeared to be one of his bodyguards as well as airport workers helping to carry his luggage.

At one point the Prince put his right hand on his chest and hunched forward as he appeared to laugh with one of the members of staff. 

The Prince was yesterday seen leaving Windsor and heading to Heathrow just one day after he unveiled a statue of Princess Diana with his brother William.

A black 2019 Volkswagen Caravelle was driven from Frogmore Cottage and on to the tarmac of Terminal 5 at the London Airport.

The vehicle – which followed closely behind a police escort – formed part of a convoy which picked Prince Harry up when he landed a week ago.

The unveiling of the highly anticipated statue in her memory in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace took place almost four years later than planned – largely due to the brothers’ cataclysmic falling-out.

At 1.32pm – just 28 minutes before the ceremony was due to start – Harry was waved through the gates in a chauffeur-driven car.

By the time he parked and walked through the cobbled palace courtyard towards the Sunken Garden, which is in the public area of the palace, he would have barely spent ten minutes with his elder brother.

It is thought Harry stayed for a polite drink after the event ended at 2.45pm – but by 3.05pm he was driven out of the palace gates, relief on his face.

The bronze made by Ian Rank-Broadley shows Diana with her arms around two children with another little boy following behind.

The image of their mother towered over the brothers as they revealed it to the world this afternoon surrounded by 4,000 of her favourite flowers.

Its design was top secret and appears to be inspired by Diana’s official 1993 Christmas card – her first sent without Prince Charles – where she wears the same open ribbed shirt, skirt and belt as she smiles lovingly at her two sons. 

But rather than depict her with her boys as she appeared in the card, she is posed with three children – two of whom are not wearing shoes.

One of the boys appears to have short afro-style hair. The palace said ‘it represents the universality and generational impact of The Princess’ work’.

Prince Charles was not present at the ceremony, which was changed to a ‘private event’ instead of the large celebration to mark Diana’s life as originally intended.

The move to scale back the unveiling was largely due to bad blood between the brothers and Harry’s determination to control media coverage – and was only broadcast after it was over and the Duke of Sussex was leaving.

Although much was made of pictures showing William and Harry smiling, their interaction, in truth, was thin on the ground.

It was only as they approached the statue for the unveiling that the brothers, whose relationship has been driven to breaking point by the shocking allegations made by the Sussexes in their Oprah Winfrey interview, were seen to properly speak, and even then their conversations were clearly centred around the event itself.

When the two dukes got into place either side of the statue, William simply said ‘ready?’ before they pulled off the cloth, and the guests applauded. There were no speeches.

The brothers are said to have barely spoken and have an ‘incredibly strained’ relationship after two years of rows over Harry’s wife and her alleged treatment of staff, the couple’s decision to emigrate to America and the tonnes of ‘truth bombs’ the Sussexes have dropped in TV interviews watched by tens of millions of people around the world.

Harry and Meghan believe they were abandoned by the Royals, even accusing them of racism towards Archie and ignoring their cries for help when the Duchess of Sussex felt lonely and suicidal while pregnant in London.

On Wednesday, his first day out of quarantine, Harry he delighted sick children with a surprise visit to the WellChild Awards – an event to celebrate inspirational young people living with serious illnesses.

The event was originally scheduled for September, but the organisers changed the date to allow the Duke of Sussex to attend while he’s in the UK.

The duke – who has been WellChild’s patron since 2007 – spoke to winners and mingled with the awards’ star-studded lineup, including Ed Sheeran.

Pop star Sheeran was overheard congratulating the Duke of Sussex on the birth of his daughter Lilibet Diana last month.

The singer, whose wife Cherry Seaborn gave birth to their first child Lyra Antarctica last year, said: ‘Congratulations, a girl right?

‘We just had a little girl ten months ago now. You’re still in the trenches now. How do you manage with two?’ The Duke of Sussex replied: ‘Two is definitely a juggle.’

Speaking to award winners later, Harry described Lilibet as ‘very chilled’, saying she ‘seems happy to just sit there while Archie is running around like crazy’, Hello Magazine reports.

Earlier yesterday, hundreds of fans of the Princess of Wales flocked to Kensington Palace to get a glimpse of the new statue.

But members of the public gave it a mixed reaction, with some saying she ‘looks beautiful’ while others thought ‘it doesn’t look like her’.

Some began queuing outside the gates two-hours before they were allowed in at 10am to catch their first glimpse of the statue.

It is the focal point of the Palace’s newly re-landscaped Sunken Garden, which has been filled with the Princess’ favourite forget-me-not flowers.

First in the queue was Royal super-fan John Loughrey, 66, from Streatham, South London, who gave it the thumbs up. He said:’I think she looks very beautiful.

‘I was impressed when I saw the photographs yesterday but I was really looking forward to seeing it with my own eyes this morning and it didn’t disappoint.’

Donna Burton, 50, from Newcastle, arrived in London on Wednesday to celebrate Diana’s birthday with a banner in Kensington Gardens.

She has been a fan since Diana got married to the Prince of Wales because ‘she just did so many kind-hearted things for people’.

She admitted that she felt underwhelmed by pictures of the statue initially, saying: ‘I wasn’t that impressed really. I just thought it didn’t really look like her – but I think it must be hard to make a statue look like someone.’

She added: ‘I think it would have been a bit lonely for her on her own. I would have preferred the kids to be William and Harry.’

Retail assistant Lisa Connor, 33, had come all the way from Kendal in the Lake District, and said: ‘I think it looks lovely, it captures her really well.

‘It’s different from what I expected because I thought it was going to be just Diana on her own but I was pleasantly surprised that she was with children as I think it highlights how caring she was.

Mary Gamble, 59, from Highgate in North London, is a regular visitor to Kensington Palace and arrived an hour early to see the statue.

She said: ‘I like it. It’s not quite what I expected as I thought she would be portrayed in the clothes she famously wore during her work advocating a ban on landmines.

‘I knew she would be with children, though, as I remember reading how the sculptor said he didn’t want her on her on her own.

‘I’m also celebrating my 60th birthday this year and so myself and Diana were the same age growing up so I’ve always been a big fan.

‘The statue shows her as a strong woman, which I like, along with the forget-me-bits which were her favourite flower.’ 

Terri-Ann Pincombe, 56, from Kesgrave, Suffolk, said she liked how ‘informal’ the statue of Diana was, adding: ‘Her vulnerability made her very human.

‘It would have been nice to see Harry and William as the kids in the statue but perhaps that would have made it more about them.’

Meanwhile, Sara Terrence, who lives in London but is originally from New Zealand, said the statue ‘gives people something to come and look at and remember her by’.

She said: ‘I think it’s beautiful and lovely but I was wondering about why the three children were there – perhaps to show her caring side?’