Royal author Nigel Cawthorne said the palace would have to go “on bent knee” and ask Prince Harry to act as a “placeholder” to the royals as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the UK. He said royal officials could be forced to ask Prince Harry, who will no longer be a senior royal from March 31, to return and provide assistance to the Firm if Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, became pregnant during the crisis.

Nigel Cawthorne, author of Call Me Diana: Princess Diana on Herself, told Femail the palace would have to go “on bent knee to Prince Harry to ask him to act as placeholder”.

But Mr Cawthorne said the duke, 35 would be “delighted” to help.

He said: “I am sure he would come back and be delighted to help out, too, and do anything to protect his father and grandmother.”

The remarks come as Prince Harry self isolates in Canada with his wife Meghan Markle and their son Archie Harrison.

The pair will bow out of royal life on March 31 after announcing their sensational decision to quit in January.

Prince Harry told Russian hoaxers, posing as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, he had taken the momentous decision to “protect my son”.

The Duke of Sussex allegedly told hoaxers how he and Meghan were “completely separate” from the Royal Family and “marrying a prince or princess isn’t all it’s made up to be”.

In the audio, a voice believed to be Harry said: “And this decision certainly wasn’t the easy one but it was the right decision for our family, the right decision to be able to protect my son.

“And I think there’s a hell of a lot of people around the world that can identify and respect us for putting our family first.

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“But, yeah, it’s a tricky one, but we will start a new life.”

Mr Cawthorne also claimed Prince William, the future King in line to the throne after Prince Charles, would have to step up if his 71-year-old father and the 93-year-old grandmother, the Queen, are in isolation for some time.

He added: “It is entirely sensible for Prince William to act as placeholder for the Queen.

“There has to be a physical presence to the monarchy, not just a virtual one.

“He’s third-in-line to the throne and in robust health like his brother, and COVID-19 is unlikely to be any serious threat for him or his wife or children. He will do a great job.”

It comes after Buckingham Palace confirmed Prince Philip had flown by helicopter to join his wife in Windsor as the pandemic takes hold of the UK.

Philip, 98, was flown by helicopter from the Sandringham estate where he has been staying in his secluded Wood Farm cottage.

The monarch departed Buckingham Palace on Thursday for the Berkshire royal residence, accompanied by her two dorgis.

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The Duke of Edinburgh, who has retired from public duties, had always planned to join his wife for Easter Court, but has arrived a week early to coincide with her movements.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: “The Duke of Edinburgh has arrived at Windsor Castle to join the Queen for Easter Court, as planned.”

The advanced age of both the Queen, who is the nation’s longest reigning monarch, and Philip mean they are more at risk of complications if they catch the Covid-19 illness.

The royal couple will be based at Windsor with a reduced number of staff as a precaution and will be following the advice of their Medical Household and the Government

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