Prince Harry’s Emotional Tribute to Late Uncle Leaves Guests ‘Astounded’ and Him ‘Pleased,’ Source…see more

Prince Harry’s Emotional Tribute to Late Uncle Leaves Guests ‘Astounded’ and Him ‘Pleased,’ Source Says (Exclusive)
“He was on remarkably good form — and you could tell he was very pleased to see everybody,” a source tells PEOPLE of the Duke of Sussex’s appearance at a memorial service for his uncle

Prince Harry’s unexpected journey across the Atlantic to pay his respects at the memorial service for his late uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, was deeply emotional, leaving him “pleased” and guests “astounded,” a source tells PEOPLE.

The trip carried extra significance, coming just two days before the anniversary of the death of his late mother, Princess Diana. However, Harry’s surprise arrival in the U.K. — despite earlier reports that he wouldn’t attend — didn’t lead to a public reconciliation with his brother, Prince William, 42.

At the Aug. 29 service at St. Mary’s Church in Snettisham, Norfolk, the estranged brothers sat apart, each with different groups of their maternal cousins.

“Most people were astounded that Harry came,” one of the reported 300 attendees tells PEOPLE. “He was on remarkably good form — and you could tell he was very pleased to see everybody. And he was very pleased that he had come over.”

Many guests, including members of the extended Spencer family and friends, gathered around Harry — who turns 40 on Sept. 15 — to speak with him at the service, according to the source.

Although the royal brothers stood close to each other while chatting with others, the source did not observe Harry speaking to William. It’s also believed that Harry did not see his father, King Charles, 75, who is being treated for cancer and is staying at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The moment was especially poignant as Harry spent time with his mother’s siblings—Fellowes’s widow Lady Jane, Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer, and Lady Sarah McCorquodale — around the 27th anniversary of Diana’s death. (The late Princess of Wales died in Paris following a car crash on Aug. 31, 1997.)