Today, Prince Harry committed to pursuing “every available option” to ensure his wife and children can join him in the UK next month. A source close to the prince described the denial of round-the-clock police protection for his family as “bizarre.”
Currently vacationing in Europe with their children, Archie and Lilibet, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are amid plans to visit the UK in July, which have turned into what some insiders call a “total farce.”
Prince Harry is scheduled to be in the UK early next month to kickstart preparations for the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. He had hoped that Meghan and their two children would accompany him on this trip.
The itinerary for their visit was to include a meeting with King Charles and a significant visit to Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire, the final resting place of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.
Archie and Lilibet have not had the opportunity to see their grandfather since their last visit to Britain in June 2022, which was for the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
However, Harry is said to be furious that his request for a review of their police protection was turned down ‘at the 11th hour’. He is reported to blame his father’s aides – the so-called ‘men in grey suits’ – with whom relations remain strained.
A source close to Harry has described the decision as ‘bizarre’, insisting it was wrong to deny full armed protection to the son of the monarch, who is fifth in line to the throne, with Archie and Lili sixth and seventh.
In a statement on Monday, his spokesman said Harry wants his family to have ‘the opportunity to enjoy the UK’ – but not without ‘proportionate protective security’.
Prince Harry may not bring his wife and children to Britain next month after his petition for taxpayer-funded security was denied. The Sussexes are said to already be in Europe but their UK visit is now in doubt
King Charles III opening the Scottish Parliament on Friday. Harry is said to blame the so-called ‘grey suits’ around his father for the lack of a new security assessment for his family, not his father himself
‘The Duke continues to explore every available option to enable the visit to proceed safely and to give his children the opportunity to enjoy the UK,’ the statement said.
In a nod to the King’s offer of a royal palace as a base for their Invictus trip, which has yet to be accepted, the spokesman added: ‘Safe accommodation is only one element of an effective protective security plan because risk follows the person, not the place.
‘The issue has never been accommodation. The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit.’
‘The independent Risk Management Board that Ravec itself decided was necessary last November has still not taken place.
‘It is therefore difficult to understand how the proportionality of the current arrangements can credibly be maintained without that independent assessment.’
The Sussexes are believed to be at their £6.3million holiday home in Portugal, with the Duke now reconsidering bringing his wife and children to Britain after learning they will not receive 24/7 police protection.
On Friday they were all set to come – within 24 hours the plan was being reconsidered by Harry.
It is understood that the Sussexes’ programme remains the same, for now.
An insider close to Harry has blamed ‘those around the King’ who sit on the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which decides security arrangements for VIPs.
There was also criticism that ‘celebrities like Taylor Swift’ receive ‘state-funded security’ – unlike the Sussexes. The singer was given a police escort in London two years ago after a terror attack on one of her shows was foiled in Europe.
The source told ITV News that they believe that Harry is not being offered a security review for the July trip because a third of Ravec is drawn from Buckingham Palace and Prince William’s office.
A royal insider told the Daily Mail that the Sussexes’ trip was fast becoming an ‘unwelcome mess’ for both Harry and the King.
‘Harry really wants his children to see their grandpa. It’s not clear how keen the King is to see them if it involves all these theatrics,’ the insider said.
‘Unfortunately, what should have been a chance to build bridges has led to more mistrust on both sides,’ the insider said.
‘Harry is furious that the King’s aides leaked plans for the Sussex family to stay at Buckingham Palace for part of the visit. He feels that has endangered his family because, while they are protected by the security cordon when they are inside the palace, they are vulnerable as soon as they leave it.
‘At least when they were living at Frogmore Cottage there were several exits from the Windsor estate that made it more difficult for them to be spotted and followed. But of course, they were evicted from there to punish them for quitting.
‘Harry is now looking at alternative royal accommodation for part of the stay as well as somewhere else that is privately owned.’
On Friday, Harry’s team had released details of the itinerary for the five-day visit next month – but within 24 hours he had changed his mind following another row over his security.
‘Their plans to see family… and visit charitable causes close to the Duke’s heart have been pulled out from under their feet at the 11th hour. He’s looking at every option to get the family here safely,’ a second source said.
Harry is said to be ‘desperate’ for Archie and Lilibet to see their grandfather, with one option being considered to fly them in and out of Britain in a single day from Europe, where they are on holiday.
The family are likely to be in Portugal, although their exact location has not been confirmed.
Meghan is reported to have enlisted Soho House designers to recreate the brand’s signature style at the Portuguese villa the couple bought for £6.3million in 2023.
Harry and Meghan are thought to be staying at their holiday home at the ultra-exclusive CostaTerra Golf and Ocean Club in Melides.
The private estate is also home for part of the year to Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, who are close to the Sussexes and have two young children, with a third on the way.
The Daily Mail’s Royal Editor Rebecca English said last night that Buckingham Palace’s patience with the Sussexes – and the constant psychodrama surrounding them – is being pushed to its limits.
The Palace offered them the use of a royal residence, but this has not been accepted with only a few days to go.
A source told her: ‘For the sake of family harmony, the Palace would have been perfectly happy with a peaceful and low-key visit. Yet, once again, they have turned it into a soap opera. It’s tiresome.’
King Charles is said to be pragmatic and unlikely to reject any overture to meet his grandchildren discreetly for the sake of family harmony. However, recent events are making that increasingly difficult.
Insiders say the King would be deeply dismayed if the meeting no longer goes ahead.
And the Duke himself had been described as ‘desperate’ for Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to see their grandfather.
One source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘On Friday night the Sussex office issued an op [operational] note saying that the full family would be coming to the UK and they had accepted royal accommodation. Next day they pull out.
‘It’s a total joke and a farce. They are totally playing into the hands of those who say they court drama like this to sell Meghan’s jam.’
Harry has long argued that security concerns have prevented him bringing his family to Britain after his taxpayer-funded protection changed
While the children are not expected to attend any public events, the Duchess was scheduled to join her husband on visits to Royal Hospital Chelsea and an Invictus event in Birmingham.
Details of the trip were announced on Friday evening.
But shortly afterwards, according to reports, the Duke was told that his application for security for the visit had been denied.
The King’s estranged son was stripped of his 24-hour, taxpayer-funded armed guard on visits to the UK after he quit royal duties and moved to the US in search of a lucrative commercial career.
He then lost a High Court appeal over the move, which he vehemently criticised as an ‘establishment stitch-up’.
But it then emerged that the Home Office, via its risk management board Ravec, had ordered a reassessment of his situation.
However, the Duke was told last week that the review had not taken place and had in fact been ‘paused’.
It means his family’s taxpayer-funded protection in the UK does not extend beyond royal residences. The Sussexes do, however, travel with their own bodyguards.
On Saturday, a source close to the California-based Duke and Duchess accused the Home Office of ‘wilfully creating conditions that are making it nearly impossible’ for them to move around Britain.
Since quitting royal duties to move abroad in 2020, Harry has not been given police protection for anything other than official royal occasions, such as Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
Normally he must provide 28 days’ notice of plans to visit Britain, with security decided on a case-by-case basis.
King Charles last saw his grandchildren in 2022, when the Sussexes were in Britain for Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
The family celebrated Lilibet’s first birthday together at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
A source said: ‘The precarious security situation and endless speculation about where the family will stay is making the planning and logistics for the private security team increasingly difficult.
‘There have been three separate incidents in the UK in less than 12 months that we know of, each involving a fixated person getting to within feet of the Duke.
‘In some circumstances, because of the limitations on what private security have the authority to do, they weren’t able to remove the person.
‘Harry is a big guy, a former soldier and generally pretty robust when it comes to handling these incidents.
‘It’s what impact such moments would have on the kids that everyone is most concerned about.’
While Meghan shares photographs and videos of their children on social media, their faces are obscured, and they do not attend public events with their parents.
Among the options said to be under consideration would be to fly the Duchess and the children in and out of Britain in one day, from a location in mainland Europe.
Prince Harry is said to have been given assurances from Buckingham Palace that there is ‘hope’ a meeting with the King could still happen.
The Sussexes’ private security team has drawn up its own risk assessment, which has identified serious concerns.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
‘It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.’
