LONDON, United Kingdom, (AFP) – Queen Elizabeth II’s death could help start a reconciliation between Prince Harry and wife Meghan and the rest of the royal family, after a reported rift and their relocation to the United States.

The couple, who were on a rare visit to Britain when the queen died on Thursday, reunited with Harry’s brother William and wife Kate at Windsor Castle Saturday. It was their first joint public appearance since they moved stateside in early 2020.

All dressed in mourning black, together they looked at the growing banks of flowers left by the public before greeting well-wishers as separate pairs, giving little away about the state of their relations.

But the decision by the quartet — once dubbed “the fab four” in closer times — to step out together in front of the cameras at all appeared a sign of progress in repairing badly fractured ties.

UK royal reporters said heir-to-the-throne William proposed the “olive branch” to his younger brother, who has been increasingly critical of the family since leaving frontline royal duties.

Just two days earlier it was a different story, with a tearful looking Harry, 37, arriving alone in a vehicle to the Balmoral estate where the queen had earlier died.

William and several other close family members — but not Kate — had earlier turned up together in a single car, but also arrived too late to see the queen before she passed away.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said Thursday’s separate arrivals showed the brothers had become “estranged”.

He argued that Harry and Meghan were seen to have “done the royal family a lot of damage in recent months” with their broadsides against the monarchy.

“For the future, the ball’s in their court and it depends how they want to play,” Fitzwilliams added.