Police sent to Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's home on day Prince Philip died

Officials at the U.S. Embassy in London had to send someone from the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Montecito home to let them know that Prince Philip had died.

According to TMZ, the embassy made several attempts to reach the couple to tell them the sad news. Their efforts were futile because their calls were made before 3:00 in the morning. Understandably, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were sound asleep. England is after all, eight time zones ahead of California.

The embassy eventually dispatched the police to their estate. An officer got in touch with someone from the mansion, who then informed the couple to call the embassy right away. That was how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle learned that Prince Philip had died.

They knew an hour before Buckingham Palace released a statement at midday to announce the duke's passing on the morning of April 9 at Windsor Castle. At that time of the announcement, it was 4:00 a.m. in Los Angeles. The Royal Family reportedly wanted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to hear of Prince Philip's death from them and not from the media. Thus, the reason for the early call.

The 36-year old flew to London to bid his grandfather goodbye. He joined the procession and the funeral service. It was an unexpected reunion for the royals who have not seen Prince Harry in person for a year since he and his wife stepped back from their duties as senior royals in March last year.

Meghan Markle, who is pregnant with the couple's baby girl, stayed home and watched the service from their Montecito home. Sources revealed that she got in touch with Queen Elizabeth II to comfort her when she learned about Prince Philip's death.

As for Prince Harry, he shared that his trip back home "worried" him and that he was "afraid about it." He admitted that London has always been a "trigger" for his panic attacks ever since he lost his mother, Princess Diana. But he relied on tactics learned in therapy to help him get through Prince Philip's memorial, although he admitted that "the heart still pounds."