Prince Harry is to continue his controversial campaign demanding taxpayer-funded security, paving the way for future visits to the UK with his family. The Duke of Sussex has been buoyed by an emotional reunion with the King, alongside his wife Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet, earlier this month for the first time in four years.
Harry Seeks More Time for King with Grandchildren
Sources have revealed Harry wants to arrange further meetings with his father to allow him to spend time with his grandchildren he has hardly seen since the Duke and Duchess quit their royal roles in 2020 and moved to the United States. Harry is set to return to the UK in September for the annual WellChild Awards, a charity he has supported for many years, becoming patron in 2007. He will also be at the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham and is hopeful his family will be able to accompany him.
Harry now plans to continue to lobby the Home Secretary to complete an urgent review into his security, after he sent the department a report from his private security company claiming he is a terror target.
Security Concerns Derail Family Visit Plans
After announcing plans to all travel to London together from a family holiday in Europe, the Sussexes were forced to travel separately when they received notice that the Home Office would not facilitate round the clock security for them for the visit. Harry, 41, returned for events surrounding the one-year countdown to his Invictus Games being held in Birmingham next summer.
The duke’s hopes of engineering a meeting between his father and his family were dashed just 24 hours after revealing his full UK itinerary, which included Meghan joining him on stage at the Invictus event at Birmingham’s The National Exhibition Centre (NEC). He had planned to stay at Buckingham Palace with Meghan and their children, but the King pulled the accommodation, suggesting his estranged son had not replied in time to organise suitable staffing to host them at the palace.
Sources suggested the Home Office was further angered by Harry’s plan, suggesting the duke announced his itinerary in the hope of forcing the government to grant them security which was removed when the Duke and Duchess left their royal roles in 2020.
Emotional Reunion at Highgrove
Yet, Harry did manage to arrange a meeting with the King at his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire - alongside the Queen - meaning Charles managed to spend precious time with his grandchildren for the first time since 2022. Following a massive internal security operation, Meghan and the children flew in from Europe to the Midlands after earlier pulling the plug on a planned trip to London over fears for their safety.
Despite making millions since leaving his role as a working royal in 2020, and arranging his own private security team, Harry has claimed he remains a target for terrorists in the UK and needs protection from the Metropolitan Police when he returns. Neither the palace nor the Sussexes team have revealed details of the meeting, apart from the fact it took place on Saturday, July 11, where Charles and Camilla hosted them for afternoon tea. One source described the meeting as “emotional” and both the King and Harry hoped to arrange a further gathering in the future.
Legal Battles and Ongoing Risk
The duke lost a case at the High Court in February 2025 which concluded that the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) was right to downgrade his high-level police protection for when he is back in the country. In May 2025, Harry took his case to the Court of Appeal, but after a two day hearing Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos told the court that while the duke’s safety concerns were both “powerful and moving”, his “sense of grievance” did not “translate into a legal argument”.
The Home Office has always maintained that Harry’s security is considered on a case-by-case basis and if he informs the department of his travel plans at least 28 days in advance. Where intelligence indicates a specific threat or where events require it, local police can provide support or specialist assistance. However, this falls well short of the round-the-clock armed Metropolitan Police protection afforded to working royals.
Harry's Spokesman and Threat Assessment
A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said: “The Duke continues to make the case that he and his family face an enduring security risk by virtue of the circumstances of his birth and his membership of the Royal Family. The threats that existed while he was a working member of the institution did not simply vanish when he stepped back from official duties six years ago. They remain, and the most recent threat assessment underscores the continuing nature of those risks.”
Harry, 41, has made several trips back to Britain from his home in California, but has been forced to pay for his own private security. A 40-page risk assessment suggested he faced an “elevated risk” in the UK, where five of the six known terror plots against him originated. At least four individuals responsible for those threats are thought to be out of prison, and their whereabouts are unknown. The report, compiled at the request of the Home Office, said the biggest threat facing Prince Harry was from “lone actors” or “grassroots” terrorists, who often target public figures who receive high levels of negative publicity.
Harry was particularly angered that the government sent him the contact number for a liaison officer for him to call in an emergency, rather than respond to his request for the complete review.
Criticism from Former Adviser
Norman Baker, a former privy counsellor and author of the book on royal finances - Royal Mint, National Debt - said: “Harry needs to accept that the question of his security has been considered exhaustively and independently but he refuses to accept the answer. The issue I think is not who pays but that he wants security personnel with guns and that is not possible with private security people in this country. It bewilders me that he is so worried about security in the UK, generally a pretty safe country, but not about the USA where gun deaths are two a penny.”
