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Police are hunting a handcuffed prisoner who allegedly broke free of officers south-west of Brisbane last night.

A police spokesperson said extensive searches had been carried out overnight around Ipswich as officers sought to "urgently" find the man but he was still on the run on Friday morning.

Police alleged the man was being taken from Roderick Street facility after being arrested earlier on Thursday on property offences when he escaped about 9pm.

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The spokesperson was unable to give any more details about the facility or how many police were guarding him at the time.

The man isn't considered dangerous but but members of the public are urged to contact police if they see him, rather than approaching him themselves.

He was described as 180cm tall with an athletic build, black short curly hair with a rat's tail and brown eyes with thick bushy, black eyebrows.

He was barefoot and handcuffed at the front, wearing a light blue shirt and blue-and-white light-coloured shorts.

Police believed the man might still be in Ipswich but said he also had connections with Churchill, about 3km south.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or online.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have reportedly paid a secret visit to Queen Elizabeth on a flying trip to the UK.

A spokesman for the Sussexes confirmed to ABC News the meeting had taken place, though Buckingham Palace has not.

It's believed the Sussexes arrived in the UK earlier this week, and may have also met with Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.

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Harry and Meghan, who sensationally stepped down from royal duties in January 2020, are set to travel to the Netherlands this weekend for the start of the Invictus Games.

Harry is currently seeking a judicial review into a Home Office decision to not allow him to pay for police protection while on British soil.

This legal battle stopped Harry from visiting the UK Prince Philip's memorial service on March 29.

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A former spokesperson for the Queen, Dickie Arbiter, said the meeting may represent an "olive branch".

"It does beg the question, though, that Harry dropped in because he's on his way to Holland for the Invictus Games," Mr Arbiter told Today.

"If he wasn't on the way to Holland for the Invictus Games, would he have made the visit? We don't know."

Mr Arbiter also said there would be a long way to go before the Sussexes were welcomed back into the royal fold.

"We cannot forget that interview that they did with Oprah Winfrey where, quite frankly, both of them rubbished the Royal Family, rubbished the Queen, rubbished the Prince of Wales," he said.

"And that really did hurt them deeply."

A serious crash near Hastings on Thursday night has been followed by another serious crash on State Highway 5 Friday morning.A police spokesperson said the crash on SH5 outside Tarawera Cafe occurred about 9.30am.The spokesperson…