Prince Harry returns to the US following news of Meghan's family loss

Prince Harry's recent trip home to the UK has already come to an end.

According to reports from the Daily Mail, the Duke of Sussex caught a flight back to California on Friday, travelling in a black 2019 Volkswagen Caravelle led by a police escort to London's Heathrow Airport.

This means the royal's trip home for his mum Diana's memorial unveiling only lasted two days outside of his mandated isolation period at Frogmore Cottage. The reason for his flying visit is likely the recent death in his wife Meghan Markle's family.

Just hours before Harry and his older brother Prince William unveiled a statue in honour of their late mother Diana at Kensington Palace last Thursday, the news broke that Meghan's uncle Michael Markle, 82, had passed away after battling Parkinson's disease.

A source told the son of Meghan's uncle, who reportedly went by Mike, that he was a "lovely, gentle, softly spoken man".

"He was always happy to be asked about Meghan, but whenever he spoke to anyone he mainly wanted to talk about his late wife — he loved her so much."

And according to another source, speaking to the Daily Mail, Mike Markle - who is the older brother of Meghan's father Thomas Markle - never got to meet Prince Harry, but was said to be "very proud" of Meghan and of the fact that he had a royal in-law.

Prince Harry has flown back to the US to support his wife Meghan Markle after a family loss. Photo / Getty Images

"He was quite well known in his community for being Meghan's uncle," the source claimed.

While he never met her husband or presumably her two children Archie and Lilibet, he appears to have had a good relationship with his niece, the source went on.

"He always stop for a chat to say how proud he was of her even though he didn't often agree with how she went about things."

"He would usually just chuckle and say, 'It's not every day you have a prince in the family, though, I suppose!'"