Prince Harry Learned Of Prince Philip's Death After Cops Showed Up At His Home: Report

Prince Harry learned of the passing of his grandfather Prince Philip after police officers were sent to his California home in April, a report says.

Buckingham Palace aides had contacted the U.S. embassy in London to inform Prince Harry of the death of his grandfather, who passed away in Windsor Castle at the age of 99 on April 9, The Telegraph reported.

However, the Duke of Sussex had slept through several calls from a staffer at the embassy, TMZ reported, citing unnamed law enforcement sources. The calls began just before 3 a.m., but neither Prince Harry nor his wife Meghan Markle answered.

This prompted the embassy to reach out to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office and request that a deputy head to the couple’s Montecito estate and inform the duke that they were urgently trying to reach him, the TMZ report said.

The 36-year-old royal was reportedly asleep when an officer from the sheriff's office turned up at their doorstep. Upon returning the embassy's call, Prince Harry learned that Prince Philip had died.

A spokesperson for the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Telegraph that they sent officers to the Sussexes' mansion in Montecito at 3 a.m. in April and that the purpose of the visit was to inform the duke that his grandfather had passed away. The rep said they could not contact Prince Harry any other way.

"We did go to the house on the ninth at 3am on the request of Buckingham Palace," the spokesperson said. "The call note says it was a call for service from the US embassy in London."

It is not known whether family members tried to call Prince Harry regarding the news before the police were alerted. However, the palace aides were aware of the need to inform the Duke of Sussex about Prince Philip's passing before the media.

Prince Harry immediately flew to London to attend his grandfather's funeral, which was held on April 17. However, his pregnant wife, who had suffered a miscarriage last summer, was not able to join him because her doctors advised her against traveling during this time.

Markle's doctors didn't think "the stress of it all is worth her risking losing another baby," unnamed sources told Us Weekly at the time.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry's return to the U.K. in April was also the first time he'd come face-to-face with his family since he and Markle decided to step back as senior working royals last year.

Following the funeral at St. George's Chapel, Prince Harry was spotted having a friendly exchange with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they left the chapel together. Despite this, royal experts and commentators have since said that it would take time for the brothers to fully reconcile, especially following Prince Harry's statements against the royal family.

Royal correspondent Kinsey Schofield recently said she believes things would only go back to normal if Prince Harry leaves his wife and returns to London, which is unlikely to happen.

"Sadly, I think the only way that things would go back to normal is if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were to separate and Prince Harry returned to the UK solo," Schofield told Mirror. "However, Harry would never leave his children in another country."