Prince Harry to bring his own team for UK return despite royal offer | Royal | News
As plans accelerate for a family visit linked to the Invictus Games, Prince Harry reportedly hopes to reunite with King Charles when he returns to the UK with Meghan Markle and their children next month.
The Duke of Sussex is said to want the King to spend time with seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet, who have not visited the UK for four years.
The trip is also expected to revive questions about security arrangements following Harry’s long-running dispute with the Home Office over police protection.
While the prince reportedly spends around $3 million (£2.2 million) a year on private security in the US, he has yet to regain automatic-armed police protection while in Britain and is understood to be on hold while the security situation is reviewed.
Sources told Page Six that the Sussexes were offered accommodation at a royal residence during their stay, where security was already provided.
Harry is also expected to travel with members of his own security team.
A source familiar with the arrangements said the family would fly on a commercial flight rather than a private jet, adding: “Harry always travels with one or two members of his own security team.”
The visit is expected to coincide with the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham from July 7-10 next year, Page Six reported.
According to the report, Harry hopes to use the trip to see his father, who has little opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren.
The source claimed that the visit would inevitably attract great attention.
“They know it will create the biggest spectacle,” the source said of Harry and Meghan. “They’ll want photos showing they’re ‘royal’.”
Speculation has also centered on whether Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes might release a photo of the King with Archie and Lilibet.
Although the children appear on Meghan’s Instagram account and in promotions for her lifestyle brand As Ever, their faces are rarely shown in full.
Responsibility for Harry’s security in Britain rests with the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC), which sets protection arrangements for senior royals and other high-profile individuals.
Harry employs his own security staff, but in the UK these staff are not allowed to carry firearms. Armed protection is limited to authorized police officers.
Private security teams also do not receive the police and intelligence briefings provided by specialist royal protection officers.
During Harry’s Supreme Court appearance in January over his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, a woman identified by The Daily Telegraph as a known stalker reportedly sat next to him on two occasions.
Harry’s security team identified the woman but were not authorized to intervene, according to the newspaper.
“There’s nothing they can do; they’re not the police. It’s a public building and they have a right to be there,” the insider said.
King Charles’ Principal Private Secretary Sir Clive Alderton is among eight members of RAVEC involved in decisions surrounding Harry’s security arrangements.
Harry has previously said his father could help end the conflict.
“My father has a lot of control and ability,” he told the BBC last year.
“Ultimately, this whole incident can be solved through him. Not by intervening, but by standing aside, letting the experts do what’s necessary,” he added.
“At this point I don’t see a world where I can bring my wife and children back to England… And I think it’s really sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
Last year Harry secured a risk board review of security regulations; RAVEC was expected to advise an independent president on whether he should receive armed police protection on future visits.
In a statement, the Home Office said: “The UK Government’s safeguarding system is stringent and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about these arrangements as doing so could compromise their integrity and impact the safety of individuals.”
Meanwhile, Meghan is not expected to do any work during the trip, including a partnership with AI fashion platform OneOff, despite promoting her lifestyle brand As Ever during her visit to Australia earlier this year.
A spokesman for the Sussexes declined to comment on security arrangements.
