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- Prince Harry said the Queen changed plans for his and Meghan Markle's visit after they stepped back.
- Harry said he was told in emails from royal staff that she was "busy all week."
- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said it was down to "bad advice" given to the Queen by palace staff.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that after they stepped down as senior royals, the Queen invited them for an overnight stay but then suddenly changed her plans when they reached the UK.
In an unseen clip shared on Twitter by CBS This Morning that did not make it to the final cut of the couple's sit-down interview, they recalled an incident where the Queen encouraged them to visit the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
"My grandmother had said the moment you land, come up to Sandringham. We'd love to have a chat and why don't you stay for dinner because it's going to be a long drive and you're going to be exhausted," explained Harry, who was in Canada with Markle when the conversation took place.
"She even said stay the night," Markle added.
Harry then recalled that the reality when they arrived at their UK home, Frogmore Cottage, was vastly different from what they had agreed with his grandmother.
-CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
"The moment we landed in the UK, I got a message from my private secretary, Fiona at the time, cutting and pasting from the Queen's private secretary basically saying 'please pass on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that he cannot come to Norfolk. The queen is busy, she's busy all week. Do not come up here,'" he said.
Harry then rang the Queen from his home to tell her he was thinking of coming despite being told she was no longer available. The Queen told him her diary was unexpectedly full and that she had no openings all week.
Harry told Oprah that when he realized what was happening, he did not want to push the matter.
"Doesn't the Queen get to do what the Queen wants to do?" asked Oprah.
"No, when you're head of The Firm, there is people around you that give you advice. And what has also made me really sad is that some of that advice has been really bad," Harry responded.
The Firm is the nickname used to refer to the royal family as an institution. Edward Owens, royal historian and author of the 2018 book "The Family Firm: Monarchy, Mass Media, and the British Public," told OprahMag.com that he believed there was a conscious reason behind Harry and Markle's use of the name.
"Meghan was once party to the secretive operation of the monarchy, but now she is firmly on the outside, and I think her phrase is suggestive of how she and Harry have been cut off and excluded," he said.
However, the couple also praised the Queen in their interview, with Markle saying she was "always wonderful to her" and that she loved her company. Harry also said they have a "really good relationship," and that he has "spoken more to my grandmother in the last year than I have done for many, many years."
Representatives for Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.