Prince Harry in embarrassing mix-up over palace lodgings
Updated ,first published
London: Prince Harry has been caught in an embarrassing mess over his visit to the UK this week after reports said he had accepted an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace but updated his plans because he accepted the stay too late.
Ahead of the visit, which does not include any planned public meetings with his father, King Charles, or his brother, Prince William, the communication breakdown has raised interest in the rift between the Duke of Sussex and the rest of the royal family.
The King, who became the new focus of domestic tensions, continued his program by visiting a tank museum in Dorset and boarding the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank.
The visit has been the subject of intense scrutiny in the UK after speculation it would bring Harry and his wife Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet together with the King for a rare meeting.
But plans changed last week when the Sussex Household said Meghan and the children would not join Harry on the visit, but would instead stay at their home in Montecito, California.
Those close to Harry blamed palace officials for the outcome because, despite a series of threats against the prince over the years, the visiting family were not given the full security details given to the royal family.
After days of speculation about whether the King had decided to make Buckingham Palace available to his son this week, the BBC reported on Monday morning (6pm AEST) that Harry had accepted an offer to stay at the royal residence.
Within half an hour sources close to the King said this was untrue because Harry had accepted the offer too late for rooms and staff to be made available.
Buckingham Palace officials needed confirmation on Harry’s plans at the end of last week, according to royal sources. However, correspondence arriving at the palace on Saturday morning officially rejected the King’s offer.
When Harry later decided to accept Buckingham Palace’s offer, it was no longer available due to difficulties in providing hospitality and staff. But it will be available on a future visit.
Although tensions over housing may seem minor, it highlighted tensions between the King and his second son, as well as discord between the brothers. Harry and William have not spoken since attending the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in September 2022.
The bizarre planning for Harry’s visit is further complicated by a major legal case due to be decided in London on Tuesday after the Duke of Sussex and several others, including Elton John and Liz Hurley, filed a lawsuit against some British media over their privacy.
Palace sources said this added complexity to the question of where Harry should stay, given that the King had a responsibility under the British Constitution to make no concessions in the case.
Harry and others blamed Daily MailOne of the country’s most powerful newspapers uses illegal methods such as phone hacking to get its news. Associated Newspapers, which owns the media outlet, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing regarding the stories, which appeared between 1993 and 2018.
While tensions over Buckingham Palace made headlines in Britain, the royal family continued with business as usual, including the King’s visit to the Tank Museum in Dorset to present medals to soldiers of the Royal Tank Regiment.
The King then boarded the Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank; He was sitting on the vehicle wearing his helmet, sunglasses, white shirt and tie.
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales visited children at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
King Charles met Harry during an unannounced sparring in London last September, but father and son have rarely been seen together in recent years.
The rift between Harry and other members of the family has been a source of tension for several years after his younger son aired his complaints about royal life on television shows and in a memoir. not being able to resist.
Harry told the BBC in May last year that his demand for more government-funded security for himself and his family was a “sticking point” for the family. He lost his security when he moved to the United States and went to court to restore security, but lost the case.
He added that at the time the King “wasn’t going to talk to me because of this security issue” but he wanted to get around this because his father was undergoing cancer treatment. The meeting last September appeared to bridge some of the gap between them.
But disagreement over security has become a major obstacle in planning this week’s trip.
Harry told the BBC in an interview from the US in May last year: “I don’t see a world where I would bring my wife and children back to England at this point.”
One of the biggest events this week for Harry is a meeting to highlight the Invictus Games in Birmingham in July next year.
Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 as a sports competition to help injured military personnel and has since grown into a major event with thousands of participants and major donors. Held in Sydney in 2018.
Her plans this week are also said to include visiting the Spencer family estate in Northamptonshire, where her late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, is buried.
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
