It was a, reportedly, $6 million once-in-a-lifetime trip to Colombia with the red carpet rolled out for Prince Harry and wife Duchess Meghan.
But the 39-year-old father-of-two couldn’t have looked less enthused to be spending four luxurious days in the spectacular South American country. And it was all because of their son Prince Archie.
While Meghan, 43, salsa danced the days away with a huge grin on her face, Harry was pictured at the sideline looking lost in thought and glum, as if he wished he were elsewhere.
PRINCE ARCHIE HOME ALONE
And, according to an insider, that is exactly the case for the prince, who was preoccupied with thoughts of his son Prince Archie, 5, who was due to start school in California just a few days after the couple arrived back to Montecito.
“Harry’s tendency to leave most of the decision-making to Meghan is not sitting well with him at all,” a royal insider shares.
“He might have signed off on Colombia but it was pretty clear he didn’t want to be there and had Archie on his mind the whole time.
“Harry didn’t realise how close to his first day of school it would be, but Meghan assured him they’d be back in time and it wouldn’t impact on Archie’s big day.”
DADDY GUILT
The insider adds, “Nothing they were doing in Colombia seemed as important as how Archie was feeling and Harry was suffering from a severe case of the dad guilts.
“He remembers his first day at school with his mum and William at his side, encouraging him every step of the way. Archie doesn’t even have a big brother to guide him so he’s deeply worried that he and Meghan haven’t done their best, like his own mum did.”
While the couple haven’t confirmed which school Archie will attend, previous reporting suggests he’ll be headed to Laguna Blanca or Cate School, two of the area’s premiere private schools, with the former costing around $53,000 a year in fees.
The young royal has been attending preschool in Montecito for years and has proved popular with his classmates – a reassuring sign for his parents, no doubt.
The Duchess of Sussex has described him as “the cheerful kid who brings a week’s worth of freshly picked fruit for his fellow classmates and enjoys playing a ‘roaring’ game at recess”.
HUGE MILESTONE
And according to the insider, Archie can’t wait to start school and has been desperate for his mum and dad to return home from their trip, which hasn’t helped Harry’s guilt.
“He’s furious he allowed Meghan to arrange this trip right before the most important day of Archie’s life so far and
told her so,” says the insider.
Unfortunately, Meghan’s reaction to Harry’s criticism wasn’t great as she felt he was questioning her parenting decisions. “She’s extremely frustrated with Harry right now as he’s not even hiding how miserable he is. But Harry’s incredibly homesick and so much of this world is nothing he can relate to.
“He imagined sending his kids off to prep school and on to Eton – he has a deep fear he’s not doing the best by his children.
“Harry’s almost broken travel records trying to get back to Archie’s birthday from coronations and court cases. He’s always been his number-one priority and being a father is one of the few joys he has in his life. He can’t shake the feeling that he’s let Archie down by not being there for him.”
