Prince Harry and Meghan Markle bolted from the United Kingdom before the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations had even finished, British media report.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who took a backseat throughout the four-day festivities, were reportedly already in the air back to the US when the Queen made a surprise appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Sunday (UK Time).
The Sun reported the pair, as well as their three-year-old son Archie and one-year-old Lilibet, jetted off before the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, which saw thousands line the streets for a carnival-style event looking back at Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne.
"There was no fanfare, they just went," a source of the British media outlet said. "They didn't stick around for the Platinum Jubilee pageant which is a celebration of Britain and all of its quirks and eccentricities over the Queen's 70-year reign."
The Sun says the family's trip from California to the UK and back cost more than NZ$300,000.
Harry and Meghan, among the least popular of the royals, have spent little time in the UK since their shock decision to step down as senior royals in early 2020 and move to North America. They now spend their time working with charities, giving speeches, signing multi-million dollar deals with entertainment companies and taking part in high-profile interviews in which they have made accusations of racism and neglect against senior royals.
The pair were spotted on several occasions through the Jubilee celebrations - including at the Thanksgiving service at St Paul's Cathedral - but weren't included in the royal balcony line-up on Thursday (UK Time). They were also missing from the Jubilee concert, which most of the royal family attended.
The couple were instead celebrating their Lilibet's first birthday, which coincided with the Jubilee celebrations, according to the Daily Mail. They are said to have watched the concert from Windsor alongside the Queen.
