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Meghan publicly advocated for paid family leave to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and worked behind the scenes to connect with the Bidens, DailyMail.com discovered from speaking to many current and former officials in the Biden administration and in the British government.
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Harry and Meghan were visiting the United Kingdom for charity engagements when the Queen passed on September 8, 2022, and stayed in the country through her funeral on September 19.
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Amid all of this, their staff reached out to the White House to ask if the couple could get a ride back to the United States on Air Force One.
It would have been a grand photo-op: Harry and Meghan climbing the steps of the famous blue-and-white 747 to wave alongside the President and First Lady of the United States.
But it was an immediate no from the Americans. Sources with knowledge of the decision said there was barely any discussion on the issue, just a general agreement that the request was a 'non-starter.'
'It would have caused such a commotion. It would have strained relations with the Palace and the new King,' another source told DailyMail.com.
The White House and Buckingham Palace both declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess did not respond to a request for comment.
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Both Bidens attended the [Invictus] games when they were held in Canada in 2017. And Jill Biden attended the 2016 games in Florida.
The First Lady wanted to attend the 2022 games, per a source close to her. She was the mother of a veteran and, through her Joining Forces Initiative, was a huge supporter of the military and their families. And she shared her love of the armed forces with Harry, a veteran of Afghanistan.
However, British officials, in a working level conversation, conveyed to National Security Council staff that they thought the idea would land badly, a source said.
'She wanted to go,' a person familiar with the event told DailyMail.com of the First Lady, but noted the East Wing was concerned the Palace could be hurt if she attended.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten led the US delegation instead.
At that point, the Duke and Duchess were seen as individuals and not holding any official state standing, given their exit from the Royal Family.
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They also hired staff with political connections: their spokesperson Miranda Barbot worked on President Obama's re-election campaign and Katie McCormick Lelyveld, who was brought on a consultant to the Archewell charity, was a former spokesperson for former First Lady Michelle Obama.
And, after the Sussexes' now-infamous Oprah interview, their fans seemed to agree that the Bidens were sympathetic to Meghan and Harry.
The day after the interview aired, Jill Biden wore an Oscar de la Renta dress with a lemon pattern to the State Department's International Women of Courage Awards. It was similar to an Oscar de la Renta dress Meghan had worn a month before.
Twitter saw Jill's outfit as a subtle nod of support to Team Sussex.
Meghan even sent the First Lady a basket of lemons in thanks.
Harry did manage to connect with Jill Biden for one solo event. He and the first lady hosted a Zoom event with wounded warrior athletes in September 2021, when the in-person Warrior Games had to be canceled due to the pandemic.
The two had been scheduled to attend the games together but, because of the pandemic, made it an online gathering instead.
During the talk, Harry and Jill praised each other.
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