Prince Harry has decided it is not safe to bring his wife Meghan and their children to London, dealing a blow to King Charles's hopes of seeing his estranged son and grandchildren. The Duke of Sussex is due to arrive in the UK on Monday, but will do so alone after concluding that security concerns made travel with his family impossible.
King's Diary Unchanged Amid Security Row
The King has no plans to alter his diary this week as a meeting with his grandchildren alongside Prince Harry looks increasingly unlikely. Royal sources described the drama surrounding the Sussexes’ travel plans as “tiresome”, confirming that the monarch has not changed his schedule of engagements and private meetings for the coming week. Palace insiders suggested irritation that Harry had failed to communicate his travel plans or respond to an invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace.
One insider said: “This whole business has become incredibly tiresome and it remains unresolved less than 24 hours before the Duke is supposed to be arriving. The King takes his public work incredibly seriously and there will be no last minute deviations to his plans.”
Harry's Security Concerns and Legal Battle
Harry and Meghan announced their full UK schedule late last month, but were forced into an embarrassing change of plans 24 hours later after receiving notice from the Home Office that they would not qualify for taxpayer-funded security for the visit. The Sussexes were stripped of their right to publicly funded security when in the UK following their decision to quit royal roles and move to the United States in March 2020.
Harry, 41, is understood to have been enraged and upset at the decision. Government sources told The Mirror they believed he was attempting to force the Home Office’s hand by announcing his plans publicly ahead of time. A report commissioned by the Sussexes' private security team found Harry was the focus of six terrorist plots, five of which originated in the UK. The risk assessment, published by ITN News, set out dozens of threats, including an al-Qaeda document calling for his assassination.
Family Plans and Potential Meetings
On Saturday, it emerged that Meghan and the children would not travel to London this week. The Sussexes are believed to have spent the last week at their holiday home in Portugal, while their private security team continues to try to devise a plan for them to travel across the UK. If Meghan and the children do make the trip, they are expected to stay at Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer’s Althorp home in Northamptonshire.
Harry has previously turned down an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace over fears the accommodation was not secure enough. After being offered a chance to stay in a royal residence to allay his security fears, Buckingham Palace has still not received notice of his intention to accept the invitation.
Harry's UK Engagements
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Harry is due to attend engagements involving the Invictus Games Foundation in London. He is also set to receive the judgment of his long-running court case against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail Online, on Tuesday. On Thursday and Friday, he is due in Birmingham, firstly as Patron of the children’s charity WellChild and then at the National Exhibition Centre for the Invictus anniversary event.
On Sunday, in his capacity as ambassador for the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers, the duke will attend a summer festival in Warwickshire, just an hour away from Althorp House, where his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, is buried. It has been suggested that the Sussexes could meet the King at one of his country residences, either Highgrove in Gloucestershire or Sandringham in Norfolk on Saturday, although a request has not been made.
Royal Family Dynamics
The King has only met Archie a handful of times when Harry and Meghan lived in the UK and met Lilibet once in the summer of 2022. Meghan, 44, has not visited the UK since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, while the children have not been here since June of the same year. Royal sources have confirmed the Prince and Princess of Wales have no intention of meeting Harry or his family during their potential stay. Buckingham Palace did not comment.
