Hitchhiking Lowlifes: Harry And Meghan Tried To Hitch A Ride On Air Force One After Queen Elizabeth Funeral But Were Immediately Denied

(Daily Mail) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to ride back to the United States on Air Force One after the Queen’s funeral – but the request was denied by the White House in case it caused a ‘commotion,’ sources have revealed to DailyMail.com.

The couple tried a variety of methods, sources outlined to DailyMail.com – as well as wanting Jill Biden to attend the Invictus Games, and getting that ride back to the United States on Air Force One, the First Lady also received an intriguing gift to thank her for what was seen as a supportive gesture towards Meghan following her controversial TV interview.

The couple, who had been critical of members of the Royal Family during their interview with Oprah Winfrey and in Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, had tense relations with the Royal Family when the Queen died.

Harry and Meghan were visiting the United Kingdom for charity engagements when the Queen passed on September 8, 2022, and stayed in the country through her funeral on September 19.

In the lead-up to the memorial service, Harry and Meghan were disinvited from a pre-funeral reception at Buckingham Palace, where King Charles and Queen Camilla welcomed foreign royals and world leaders, including Joe and Jill Biden.

The palace described the reception as ‘for working members of the royal family.’ Harry and Meghan were said to have been left ‘baffled’ by that decision.

Amid all of this, their staff reached out to the White House to ask if the couple could get a ride back to the United States on Air Force One.

It would have been a grand photo-op: Harry and Meghan climbing the steps of the famous blue-and-white 747 to wave alongside the President and First Lady of the United States.

But it was an immediate no from the Americans. Sources with knowledge of the decision said there was barely any discussion on the issue, just a general agreement that the request was a ‘non-starter.’

‘It would have caused such a commotion. It would have strained relations with the Palace and the new King,’ another source told DailyMail.com.

The White House and Buckingham Palace both declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess did not respond to a request for comment.

The Bidens can invite whoever they want to ride on Air Force One. But there would have been questions on who would pay for the Duke and Duchess to be passengers on the plane.

The US government pays for official trips, like the Bidens’ travel to London, but Harry and Meghan aren’t American officials. President Biden pays for his children and grandchildren to ride the plane, the Democratic Party pays for any travel to campaign events, and news organizations pay for journalists who travel on board to cover the president’s activities.

There had been other attempts by the Sussexes to join forces with the Bidens.

A central point of their outreach was the Invictus Games, held in The Hague in the Netherlands in April 2022. It was the first games since the couple had exited the Royal Family. Prince Harry created the games to honor wounded warriors and the event already had been a bonding point between Harry and the Bidens.

Both Bidens attended the games when they were held in Canada in 2017. And Jill Biden attended the 2016 games in Florida.

The First Lady wanted to attend the 2022 games, per a source close to her. She was the mother of a veteran and, through her Joining Forces Initiative, was a huge supporter of the military and their families. And she shared her love of the armed forces with Harry, a veteran of Afghanistan.

However, British officials, in a working level conversation, conveyed to National Security Council staff that they thought the idea would land badly, a source said.

‘She wanted to go,’ a person familiar with the event told DailyMail.com of the First Lady, but noted the East Wing was concerned the Palace could be hurt if she attended.

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten led the US delegation instead.

At that point, the Duke and Duchess were seen as individuals and not holding any official state standing, given their exit from the Royal Family.

After their January 2020 public departure from the Royal Family, the Sussexes settled in Canada before eventually moving to California.

However, they appeared to struggle to find their footing in their post-Palace life and tried on many hats as they searched for a new role that would suit their desire to make a difference while becoming financially independent.

In addition to their political pursuits, they signed a $100 million deal with Netflix to produce content – although their Harry & Meghan documentary failed to receive any Emmy nominations.

They signed and lost a $20 million deal with Spotify that saw Meghan’s Archetypes podcast cancelled after one season. And Bill Simmons, head of Spotify’s international sports content, publicly blasted the duo.

‘I wish I had been involved in the “Meghan and Harry leave Spotify” negotiation. “The F***ing Grifters,” that’s the podcast we should have launched with them,’ Simmons said on his Bill Simmons podcast.

‘I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories … F*** them. The grifters.’

Harry and Meghan, meanwhile, are said to blame their situation on bad luck, world events and unfortunate timing, including the onset of the Covid pandemic and the fact their interview with Oprah was shortly followed by the death of Queen Elizabeth’s husband Prince Philip.

‘The word is that they think they’ve been really unlucky,’ a source in Los Angeles had told DailyMail.com.

But it’s believed the Sussexes saw the Bidens as an ally in their attempt to establish their brand post-Megxit and as they sought to find footing in the United States.

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