Harry and Meghan asked to travel to the United States on Air Force One with Biden after the Queen’s funeral, but they refused

• Harry and Meghan have tried a variety of methods to reach out to political figures, including sending gifts and writing letters
• The couple asked to return to the United States on Air Force One after Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September, but the Biden crew refused
• Jill Biden’s wish to attend Harry’s Invictus Games was denied when British officials suggested it might not sit well with the royal family

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wanted to fly back to the US on Air Force One after the Queen’s funeral – but the request was turned down by the White House in case it caused a ‘fuss’, sources reveal to DailyMail.com.

Months earlier, First Lady Jill Biden had also been invited to the Harry Invictus Games — but the idea was killed amid concerns that the royal family might have been offended by her presence there.

It is understood that both failed initiatives were part of the Sussexes’ campaign to gain political influence in the United States when they settled into life in California. Meghan has publicly called for paid family leave for lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and worked behind the scenes to reach out to Biden, DailyMail.com found out from speaking to several current and former officials in the Biden administration and in the British government.

The couple tried a variety of styles, sources explained to DailyMail.com — in addition to wanting Jill Biden to attend the Invictus Games, and fly back to the US aboard Air Force One, the First Lady also received a dazzling gift to thank her for what was seen as a supportive gesture for Meghan after meeting her. controversial television.

The couple, who were critical of the royal family during their interview with Oprah Winfrey and in Prince Harry Spear’s memoir, had strained relations with the royal family when the Queen died.

Harry and Meghan were visiting the UK to take part in charity work when the Queen died on Sept. 8, 2022, and remained in the country during her funeral on Sept. 19.

In the run-up to the memorial service, Harry and Meghan were denied 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 royals”. It was said that Harry and Meghan were baffled by this decision.

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

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

But it was not immediately accepted by the Americans. Sources familiar with the decision said there was no discussion of the issue, just general agreement that the request was “not a start”.

It would have caused such a disturbance. “It could have strained relations with the palace and the new king,” another source told DailyMail.com.

The White House and Buckingham Palace 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 whomever they want to ride on Air Force One. But there were questions about who would pay for the Duke and Duchess to be on the plane.

Official trips, such as Biden’s travel to London, are paid for by the US government, but Harry and Meghan are not US officials. President Biden pays for his children and grandchildren to board the plane, the Democratic Party pays for any travel to campaign events, and news organizations pay for journalists who fly on the plane to cover the president’s activities.

There have been other attempts by the Sussexes to join forces with Biden.

The focal point of their communication was the Invictus Games, which took place in The Hague, Netherlands, in April 2022. It was the first match since the couple’s exit from the royal family. Prince Harry created the games to honor wounded warriors and the event was indeed a bonding point between Harry and Biden.

Both Bidens attended the Games when they were held in Canada in 2017. 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 the Join Forces initiative, has been a huge supporter of the military and their families. She shared her love of the armed forces and is a veteran of Afghanistan with Harry.

However, a source said that British officials told NSC staff, in a working-level conversation, that they thought the idea would come to a bad conclusion.

“She wanted to go,” a person familiar with the event told DailyMail.com of the first lady, but noted that the East Wing was worried the palace could get hurt if she attended.

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

At that point, the duke and duchess were seen as individuals and held no official state status, given their departure from the royal family.

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

However, they seemed to be struggling to find their footing in their post-minor life and tried many hats as they looked for a new role that fit their desire to make a difference while becoming financially independent.

In addition to their political endeavours, 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 canceled after one season. Spotify’s head of international sports content, Bill Simmons, has publicly criticized the duo.

I wish I had been involved in the “Meghan and Harry leaving Spotify” negotiations. “The F***ing Grifters,” Simmons said on his podcast Bill Simmons, “This is the podcast we should have been doing with them.”

“I have to drink one night and tell a Zoom story that I got with Harry to try and help him with the podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories… F*** them. The Kremlin.

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

“The word is they think they’re really out of luck,” a source in Los Angeles told DailyMail.com.

But Sussex is believed to have seen Biden as an ally in its bid to establish its brand after Megxit and in its quest to find a foothold in the US.

They also hired employees with political connections: Their spokeswoman Miranda Barbeau worked on President Obama’s re-election campaign and Katie McCormick Lelyveld, who was brought in as an advisor to the Archewell charity, was a former spokeswoman for former First Lady Michelle Obama.

And after the Sussexes’ infamous Oprah interview, their fans seemed to agree that the Bidens were sympathetic to Meghan and Harry.

The day after the interview aired, Jill Biden wore a lemon-patterned Oscar de la Renta dress to the State Department’s International Women of Courage Awards. It was similar to the Oscar de la Renta dress Meghan wore a month ago.

Twitter saw Gill’s outfit as a subtle nod of support for the Sussex team.

Meghan even sent the first lady a basket of lemons as a thank you.

Harry managed to hook up with Jill Biden at one singles event. He and the First Lady hosted a Zoom event with injured Warrior athletes in September 2021, when the in-person Warrior Games had to be canceled due to the pandemic.

The two were scheduled to attend the games together, but due to the pandemic, made it an online gathering instead.

During the conversation, Harry and Jill compliment each other.

‘Thank you for your continued service and support all these years,’ Harry said to her. It was great to see you working in different parts of the world giving your all to so many people not only to the uniformed but to the families as well. Many of them wouldn’t be here without you, thank you.

In return, Biden thanked the duke for devoting himself to “raising service members from around the world.”

It was one of the Sussexes’ successful connections and results.

Other efforts proved less successful, including a personal lobbying effort from the Duchess.

In November 2021, Meghan reached out to Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Susan Collins to advocate for including paid family leave in the Democrats’ social spending bill. I got their private phone numbers from Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

The Duchess also wrote a letter to the then congressional leaders, Senator Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, which she sent as a “committed citizen, father and mother”.

She wrote, “If we’re going to create a new era of family-first politics, let’s make sure that that includes a guaranteed, accessible, and encouraging paid vacation program for every American without stigma or penalty.”

This is about putting families above politics. And for a refreshing change, we all seem to agree. At a time when everything seems so divisive, let this be a common goal that unites us.

But she has been criticized for using her royal title and family names in her lobbying efforts.

Meghan concluded, “On behalf of my family, Archie, Lily and Harry, I thank you for considering this letter, and on behalf of all families, I ask you to ensure this subsequent moment is not lost.”

In the end, the family vacation plan was not included in the final draft of the Democrats’ massive social program.

But New York State Senator Gillibrand plans to reintroduce the Family Act, a bill that would guarantee 12 weeks of paid family leave. Her office did not respond to inquiries about the Duchess of Sussex’s engagement.