Harry DOES want to bring Archie and Lili to the UK – but not without ‘proportionate protective security’, team Sussex say: Duke and Duchess lay out demands after ‘state-funded guards turned down at 11th hour’

Prince Harry today vowed to ‘explore every available option’ to bring his wife and children to Britain next month; A source close to the royal described the decision not to give them 24/7 armed police protection as ‘bizarre’.

While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on holiday in Europe with Archie and Lilibet, plans for a five-day family trip to the UK in July are turning into ‘an absolute farce’.

Harry will be in England early next month as the countdown begins for the Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027, and he had planned to bring Meghan and their two children with him.

As well as visiting King Charles, the trip was to include a poignant stop at Althorp Manor in Northamptonshire, where Harry’s mother Princess Diana is buried.

Archie and Lilibet, Queen Elizabeth II They have not seen their grandfather since their last trip to England in June 2022 for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

But Harry is said to be furious that his request for a review of police protections was rejected at the ’11th hour’. He reportedly blamed his father’s aides (the so-called ‘men in gray suits’), with whom their relationship was strained.

A source close to Harry described the decision as ‘bizarre’ and insisted it was wrong to leave the monarch’s son, who is fifth in line to the throne and Archie and Lili sixth and seventh in line, without fully armed protection.

In a statement on Monday, his spokesman said Harry wanted his family to have ‘the opportunity to enjoy the United Kingdom’ but not without ‘proportionate protective security’.

King III. Charles opens the Scottish Parliament on Friday. Harry is said to blame the so-called ‘grey suits’ around his father for not carrying out a new security assessment for his father, but for his family

‘The Duke continues to explore every option available to ensure the visit proceeds safely and to give his children the opportunity to enjoy the UK,’ the statement said.

The spokesman gave his approval to a proposal for a royal palace as a base for the King’s Invictus trip, but added that this proposal had not yet been accepted: ‘Safe accommodation is only one element of an effective preventive security plan because risk follows the person, not the place.

‘The issue has never been about compromise. The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security was provided throughout the entire visit.’

‘The independent Risk Management Board that Ravec himself decided was necessary last November has still not been established.

‘Therefore, without this independent assessment it is difficult to see how the proportionality of existing regulations can be reliably maintained.’

The Sussexes are believed to be at their £6.3 million holiday home in Portugal and the Duke is reconsidering bringing his wife and children to the UK after learning they will not have 24/7 police protection.

On Friday they were all ready to arrive; Within 24 hours the plan was being re-evaluated by Harry.

It is understood Sussex’s schedule remains the same for now.

An insider close to Harry blamed ‘those in the King’s entourage’ on the Executive Committee for the Protection of the Royal Family and Public Personalities (Ravec), which decides on security arrangements for VIPs.

There was also criticism that, unlike the Sussexes, ‘celebrities like Taylor Swift’ received ‘state-sponsored security’. The singer was given a police escort in London two years ago after a terrorist attack on one of his shows in Europe was foiled.

The source told ITV News: They believe Harry was not offered a security review for the July trip because Ravec’s one-third was selected from Buckingham Palace and Prince William’s office.

A royal insider told the Daily Mail that the Sussexes’ trip quickly turned into an “unwanted mess” for both Harry and the King.

‘Harry really wants his children to see their grandfather. If it involves all these theatrical performances, it’s unclear how keen the King is to see them,’ the insider said.

‘Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a chance to build bridges has led to further distrust on both sides,’ the insider said.

‘Harry is furious that the King’s aides leaked the Sussexes’ plans to stay at Buckingham Palace for part of the visit. He thinks this puts his family in danger because while they are protected by a security cordon inside the palace, once they leave the palace they are vulnerable.

‘At least when I lived at Frogmore Cottage there were several exits from the Windsor estate, making them difficult to spot and follow. But of course they were evacuated from there as punishment for resigning.

‘Harry is now seeking alternative royal accommodation for part of his stay, as well as another privately owned venue.’

On Friday, Harry’s team had announced details of the itinerary for the five-day visit next month – but changed their mind within 24 hours after another row over his safety.

‘Plans to see family… and visit well-wishers close to the Duke’s heart were swept away from under him at 11am. A second source said he was considering every option to get the family here safely.

Harry is said to be ‘desperate’ for Archie and Lilibet to see their grandparents, and one option is thought to be to fly them back and forth from Europe, where they are on holiday, to Britain in a single day.

Although the family’s exact location has not yet been confirmed, it is stated that they are probably in Portugal.

Meghan has reportedly hired Soho House designers to recreate the brand’s signature style at the Portuguese villa, which the couple bought for £6.3 million 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 – was being tested to its limits.

The Palace offered them the use of the royal residence, but with only a few days left, the offer was not accepted.

A source told him: ‘In the interest of family harmony the Palace would be perfectly happy with a peaceful and low-key visit. But they turned it into a soap opera again. It’s very tiring.”

King Charles is said to be pragmatic and unlikely to refuse an offer to meet his grandchildren secretly in the name of family harmony. But recent events make this increasingly difficult.

Insiders say the King would be deeply dismayed if the meeting did not go ahead.

And the Duke himself was described as ‘desperate’ for Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to see their grandparents.

A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘On Friday night the Sussex office published an operation. [operational] Note stating that the whole family will be coming to the UK and agreeing to royal accommodation. They come out the next day.

‘This is a complete joke and nonsense. They’re playing right into the hands of those who say they’re making this kind of drama purely to sell Meghan’s jam.’

Harry has long argued that security concerns prevented him from bringing his family to the UK after the change in taxpayer protection

While the children are not expected to attend any public events, the Duchess is scheduled to join her husband on visits to Chelsea Royal Hospital and an Invictus event in Birmingham.

Details of the trip were announced Friday evening.

But shortly afterwards, according to reports, the Duke was told that his application for security for the visit had been rejected.

The king’s estranged son was stripped of his taxpayer-funded 24-hour armed guard on visits to Britain after abandoning royal duties and moving to the US in search of a lucrative business career.

He subsequently lost a Supreme Court challenge to this move, strongly criticizing it as an ‘institutional stitch-up’.

However, it later emerged that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through its risk management board Ravec, had ordered a reassessment of his situation.

But last week the Duke was told the review had not taken place and had in fact been ‘paused’.

This means his family’s UK taxpayer-funded protection does not extend beyond the royal residences. But the Sussexes travel with their own bodyguards.

On Saturday, a California-based source close to the Duke and Duchess accused the Home Office of ‘deliberately creating conditions that make it almost impossible’ for them to move in the UK.

Since quitting royal duties to move abroad in 2020, Harry has been joined by Queen Elizabeth II. Police protection was not provided for anything other than official royal events, such as Elizabeth’s funeral.

Normally he must give 28 days notice of plans to visit the UK and security is determined on a case-by-case basis.

The last time King Charles will see his grandchildren is in 2022, when the Sussexes’ Queen Elizabeth II will be seen. He saw it while he was in Britain for Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.

The family celebrated Lilibet’s first birthday together at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

A source said: ‘Endless speculation about the security situation and where the family will be staying is making the private security team’s planning and logistics increasingly difficult.

‘There have been three separate incidents that we know of in the UK in less than 12 months, each involving a stationary person approaching the Duke’s feet.

‘In some cases, they could not remove the person due to the restrictions on the powers of private security.

‘Harry is a big guy, an ex-soldier, and generally pretty solid when it comes to handling these events.

‘What everyone is most worried about is the impact such moments will have on children.’

While Meghan shares photos and videos of her children on social media, their faces are hidden and they do not attend public events with their parents.

Options said to be being considered include the Duchess and the children traveling in and out of the UK within a day from somewhere on the European mainland.

Prince Harry is said to have been reassured by Buckingham Palace that there is ‘hope’ a meeting with the King could still take place.

Sussex’s private security team has produced its own risk assessment, which identified serious concerns.

A Government spokesman said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security 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 affect the safety of individuals.’