It was not the most obvious place for a game-changing royal reunion. The all-American Super Bowl, with its celebrity spectators, eye-popping cheerleaders and half-time show of hip-hop anthems, is a world away from their usual family outings to church or to their grandmother's castle for tea.
But there, in the VIP section, were Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie.
In face masks, lanyards and a baseball cap, they could at first glance have been anyone; picked up by the cameras as they stared straight ahead to speak casually and comfortably, as only cousins who have grown up together in their most unusual of circumstances can. What they were talking about is anyone's guess. But the message their surprise appearance sent to those back home was unmistakable.
Princess Eugenie is the first member of the Royal Family to have visited California since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved their young family from Windsor to Montecito in search of freedom from royal duty. Hosted by the Duke, whose nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom home has plenty of room for guests, she is also the first to be given the chance to meet baby Lilibet.
Until now, Lili – 8 months old – has never been introduced to her father's side of the family, with her older brother Archie faring only a little better, having left the UK when he was 1 year old. While Prince Harry has returned to the fold only briefly since – once for his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral, and once for the unveiling of a statue for Diana, Princess of Wales – Meghan has not set foot back in Britain since their "farewell" tour in March 2020.
The couple is not expected to return any time soon, with the Duke condemning the UK as far too dangerous for his family without the Met Police protection he is now seeking through the courts.
With the 95-year-old Queen unable to travel, royal watchers fear she will never see her half-American great-grandchildren again.
So the sight of Princess Eugenie by Prince Harry's side on Sunday night came as something of a shock. US celebrity websites gloried in Harry "living his best American life"; viewers wondered which team the pair were supporting. (According to NBC, Prince Harry visited the Rams' locker room after the match.)
"Could she act as an intermediary in the royal rift and tone down Harry's forthcoming memoir?" one royal commentator in the UK asked.
For Eugenie, whose husband Jack and 1-year-old son August spent the game with Meghan and the Sussex children, the visit may tie in nicely with a work trip to Los Angeles Frieze later this week. The Princess is a director at the Hauser+Wirth gallery, and a stalwart at the annual contemporary art fair.
At the Super Bowl, the royal pair's seats were reported to have been hosted by one of the game's sponsors, offered through BetterUp, the mental fitness coaching platform where Harry works as chief impact officer. Without their spouses in attendance, the Prince and Princess had hours to chat unencumbered on the common ground of new parenthood, Harry's entry into the world of paid work, and – one imagines – his somewhat estranged family back at home.
Well well well! When worlds collide
— Amanda (@MattaOfFact) February 14, 2022
Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie at #SuperBowlLVI pic.twitter.com/EuClRUpaV9
The pair – who have been close since growing up as the youngest children of Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York – now have more in common than at any point of their lives.
Once seen giggling and whispering as members of the cohort of mischievous royal children, they later bonded over a shared love of the London party scene, but were always on unmistakably different paths.
As the daughter of the scandal-hit Duke and Duchess of York, "blood princess" Eugenie was expected to find a proper job in the era of a streamlined Royal Family. Prince Harry, on the other hand, was the son of a future king, expected to take his place as a working royal as generations had done before him.
The situation has changed beyond their wildest dreams.