Sarah Vine: The coming together of the Royal Fab Four would have made the Queen proud

How happy it must have made our dear departed Queen, sitting up there on her cloud, to see the scene unfolding beneath her at Windsor Castle.

Her grandchildren William and Harry and their respective wives Catherine and Meghan reunited for the first time since 2020.

The Fab Four, back in all their glory.

How sad, also, that it took such a tragic event as the death of her late Majesty to make it happen.

If only they could have managed it during her lifetime. But no matter. Her Majesty was nothing if not a pragmatist: better late than never.

Now perhaps she can, from her lofty perch, even look forward to the cousins finally getting to know each other properly.

Imagine that; Archie and baby Lilibet alongside George, Charlotte and Louis, playing together in the grounds of her old home. Wonderful.

King Charles, too, must be delighted.

After all, he has felt the rift between his boys acutely, and the anger and stinging accusations of his youngest son have cut him to the quick.

Nevertheless, like his mother, he has never wavered in his support for Harry and Meghan, never ceased to profess his love for them. Indeed, perhaps it was his short but heartfelt message, delivered towards the end of his highly personal first speech as King, that paved the way for yesterday’s reunion.

“Today, I also want to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” he said.

Only a brief mention, a few simple words but immensely significant.

By choosing to include their names in such an historic speech, one which will be pored over and remembered for decades to come, the new King left no doubt as to the special place his youngest son and his wife hold in his heart.

It was more than just an expression of paternal love. It was an open invitation, extended in front of the entire nation from a new King: time to bury the hatchet.

Time to come together, if not for his sake, then for the memory of the Queen, for granny – and the institution to which she dedicated her existence.

Did he hold out much hope? Who knows. What’s clear, though, is that something seems to have dislodged the shard of ice in the brothers’ hearts.

Because less than 24 hours after his speech, the Fab Four appeared together on The Long Walk leading up to Windsor Castle to greet members of the public and witness the sea of tributes at the gates.

It was a moment as surprising as it was welcome.

Meghan, clutching her husband’s hand, no doubt a tiny bit fearful of the reception she might receive. She need not have worried: the crowd reacted with generous relief, just happy to see them not at each other’s throats.

Characteristically, it was William who made the first move, in perhaps his first act of duty as Prince of Wales towards his King: to help mend the broken family.

We are told that at some point on Saturday morning, he extended the hand of friendship to Prince Harry by asking him and Meghan to join them on the walkabout.

The act of not just a brother, but a dutiful senior royal. Mercifully, the Sussexes accepted.

The resulting reunion will have gladdened the hearts of millions, especially those who have watched with mounting sadness the widening abyss between Harry and his family.

It’s a pleasant stroll between Frogmore and Adelaide cottages on the Windsor estate. A few short steps for two couples – one giant leap for the Royal Family.

Will it last? We must pray it does. It’s hard, looking at the pictures of the two brothers in black, not to be reminded of similar images from a quarter of a century ago, when the young Princes mourned the untimely death of their mother, Princess Diana.

They turned to each other for support then, just as they turn to each other now, as grown men with families of their own.

They have much in common, and there is much history between them.

Death is a great leveller. It puts everything in perspective, makes us see how silly and petty so many of the things that preoccupy us in life can be.

It reminds us of the bigger picture, shows us our place in the universe and, in the case of someone as loved and revered as our late Queen, unites people in grief.

For the Prince and Princess of Wales, and also for the new King, there is much to forgive Harry and Meghan.

It was perhaps no coincidence that the Royal Family did not wait for Prince Harry to join them all at Balmoral, where they had assembled throughout the course of Thursday, to announce the Queen’s death.

His behaviour in recent months has been, to put it mildly, challenging. And it can’t have been easy for the late Queen to witness Harry’s transformation from adored – and, let’s face it, adorable – grandson into a scowling, petulant princeling, apparently hell-bent on bringing down his own family.

How hard it must have been for her that the last month of Prince Philip’s long life, before he died in April last year, was dominated by coverage of their spiteful interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Or that thanks to their accusations of racism, resentment has been stirred up across her precious Commonwealth of nations, threatening to undermine so much of the good work the Queen did in her lifetime.

The Sussexes even declined Charles’s open invitation to stay with him at his holiday cottage on the Balmoral Estate this summer, thus denying the Queen an opportunity to get to know her namesake, her great-granddaughter Lilibet.

Instead, she met the tot just once before she passed away.

And barely a fortnight ago, Meghan used an interview to aim a series of thinly veiled threats at the Monarchy, even as the Queen’s health was fading.

But none of that matters now. It is time now for forgiveness, to put all those things to one side and find a way forward together.

Yesterday’s show of unity is the first step in what we all must hope will be a more harmonious chapter for the Royal Family.

There remains just one more thing: Prince Harry’s plans to publish a tell-all memoir, the details of which still remain unclear but which, given previous accusations of racism and other slights – real or perceived – still hangs like a Sword of Damocles over the Royal Family. That must surely now be shelved.

For those of us who believe in such things, there could have been no greater message from the Queen at her moment of passing than the sight of two glorious rainbows, one double over Buckingham Palace, another over Windsor.

A message to us all of love and compassion.

A message that, miraculously, now appears to be coming true.

TRIBUTE: The West Australian celebrates Her Majesty’s special relationship with our State in a 16-page tribute to all of her visits to WA. A Special Place In Our Hearts – The Queen’s Tours of WA, only in Monday’s special edition of The West Australian. Also available to view in the newspaper digital replica.