How Prince Harry Found Out That Prince Philip Died

Prince Harry was at his home in Montecito, California, when his grandfather, Prince Philip, died back on April 9. Harry and his wife Meghan Markle purchased their new home in July 2020, according to Hello! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved in along with their son Archie just a few months after leaving the UK, and haven't looked back since. Both Harry and Meghan seem happy with their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family, and have both spoken very highly of their experience living in California, where Harry can freely ride his bike and take his son out in public with far less worry. This is something that Harry expressed when chatting with Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast. "Living here now I can lift my head. I feel different, my shoulders have dropped. You can walk around feeling a bit more free. I take Archie out on the back of my bicycle," Harry said.

Being in California, however, Harry is a few time zones separated from his family in the UK. London is eight hours ahead of Los Angeles, which can make communication a challenge. This was the case when Philip died, as the royal family was trying to reach Harry, but he was asleep, according to TMZ. Keep reading to find out how Harry eventually learned that his grandfather had died.

According to TMZ, Prince Harry received several phone calls from the U.S. Embassy after Prince Philip died, but the ringing did not wake him up; it was around 3:00 a.m. local time, after all. Harry was woken up an unknown amount of time later, however, when police were sent to his house after the failed phone call attempts. "The Embassy rep called the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Dept. and asked if an officer could go to Harry's Montecito estate to inform him the Embassy was urgently trying to reach him," TMZ reports.

The sheriff's department showed up at Harry and Meghan Markle's house and told someone — perhaps a security guard — that Harry needed to call the embassy as soon as possible, according to TMZ. That person was apparently successful in waking Harry, who then made a phone call to find out the sad news. Just two days later, Harry was on a plane heading to the UK so that he could attend the funeral, which was held on April 17. Pregnant Meghan was forced to stay behind, as her physician felt it best if she did not fly, according to People magazine.