Prince Harry shared what Meghan Markle prayed for at Princess Diana’s grave

In 2022, two years after they resigned from their royal duties and fled to the States, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the UK, where Meghan Markle 'met' Princess Diana for the first time.

She and her husband, Prince Harry, had been visiting his home country for the funeral of his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

During their stay, Harry suggested the pair visit Althorp House, where his late mother, Diana, had been buried decades prior. The estate still belongs to Diana's brother, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer.

He recalled the trip in his 2023 memoir, Spare, describing it as the moment he brought 'the girl of my dreams home to meet mum'.

Diana had died in a tragic car accident in 1997, when Harry, her youngest son, was just 13.

The Prince wrote that Spencer had to give them a 'little shove' in the mud before they rowed a boat out to an island, where Princess Diana's final resting place is located, since her gravesite is not accessible to the public.

Prince Harry revealed what Meghan Markle prayed for at his mother's graveside (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

"No visit to this place was ever easy, but this one… twenty-fifth anniversary,” Harry wrote. “And Meg’s first time. At long last, I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum.

We hesitated, hugging, and then I went first. I placed flowers on the grave. Meg gave me a moment, and I spoke to my mother in my head, told her I missed her, asked her for guidance and clarity.

"Feeling that Meg might also want a moment, I went around the hedge, scanned the pond. When I came back, Meg was kneeling, eyes shut, palms against the stone."

The father-of-two continued: "I asked, as we walked back to the boat, what she’d prayed for,” Prince Harry added. “Clarity, she said. And guidance," in a prayer unknowingly matching his own.

At the time, the couple had been enduring mass scrutiny following their departure from the UK, reportedly spurred by being 'bullied' by several other senior royals and abused by the British tabloid press.

Princess Diana is buried at the centre of a lake on the estate owned by her family (Photograph by David Goddard/Getty Images)

It was confirmed last week, however, that Harry and Meghan would be returning to the UK following a six-year break, along with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

The pair were estimated to arrive on Wednesday (26 Aug) after flying into the country privately from California - though a spokesperson for the royal couple told the broadcaster that 'this is not something we would comment on'.

It was announced that Harry and Meghan would continue to be non-working royals and live in a non-royal residence outside of London, reported to be in the Cotswolds area.

They're also understood to have enrolled their children in British schools.

Harry previously told the BBC he would love to 'reconcile' with his family, following his father, King Charles III's cancer diagnosis.

"There's no point continuing to fight anymore; life is precious," he said. "I don't know how much longer my father has. He won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile."