Prince Harry left ‘devastated’ by ‘right’ UK trip update | Royal | News
King Charles is understood to have offered the Sussexes accommodation at a secure, unnamed royal residence (Image: Asanka Ratnayake, Getty Images)
It has been announced that Prince Harry will not be with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, during his highly anticipated five-day visit to England this weekend.
The last-minute decision came after a formal application for taxpayer-funded police protection during the London part of the trip was rejected by British authorities. Although the family had initially planned to travel together (which represented the children’s first visit to Harry’s hometown in four years), the Duke scaled back their plans due to significant safety concerns.
Since Harry and Meghan stepped down from their duties as royals in 2020, their automatic publicly funded UK police protection has also been removed. Their security is now assessed on a case-by-case basis by RAVEC (Royal and VIP Executive Committee) and their application for an armed police escort for this particular London visit was rejected.
King Charles is understood to have offered the Sussexes accommodation at a secure, secret royal residence thought to be Buckingham Palace. While the palace itself was deemed safe, Harry’s representatives rejected this as an adequate arrangement, arguing that “the risk follows the person, not the location”.
They emphasized that the family would lack adequate protection once they stepped outside the royal premises to engage in public activities. Prince Harry will arrive in London alone on Monday, July 6, to fulfill a series of charitable commitments.
These include an engagement supporting the Invictus Games at Chelsea Royal Hospital, where Meghan was initially expected to attend with him. He will also meet with patrons such as Scotty’s Little Soldiers and WellChild.
Although the family have ruled out traveling to London outright, their spokesperson confirmed they have not completely ruled out visiting other parts of Britain. It is also unlikely that Meghan and the children will travel directly to Birmingham under the protection of a special international security team later in the week.
Harry has meetings scheduled here on July 9 and 10 to promote the 2027 Birmingham Invictus Games.
Expressing their opinions on the issue on Reddit, many supporters supported Prince Harry’s decision, stating that he did the ‘right thing’.
Prince Harry is said to be ‘devastated’ by his decision not to keep his wife Meghan and their two children (Image: Invictus Games Foundation via Ge)
One exclaimed: “Great news, Harry made the right choice for his family.”
While another agreed: “Yes, very relieved.”
A third said: “I totally agree, this is the right choice for his family.”
While a fourth added: “I’ve been waiting for this and I’m so happy with the decision, I think we all knew Prince Harry would never put his family at risk no matter how much they wanted to be there to support him, the Invictus Games and his athletes.”
King Charles reportedly offered to host Prince Harry’s family (Image: Getty)
This sudden change in arrangements essentially destroyed hopes of a much-needed reunion between King Charles and his grandchildren. The King will join Queen Elizabeth II in June 2022. He had not met Archie (7) or Lilibet (5) face to face since Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Sources say King Charles maintains a relatively friendly relationship with Harry and communicates regularly, but the monarch remains firm and has made it clear that he will not personally intervene in decisions made by the government-mandated security committee (RAVEC).
Those who know the Duke say Harry is left “devastated” by the ongoing impasse. She is keen for her children to embrace their British heritage and visit their late grandmother Princess Diana’s grave in Althorp, but refuses to compromise their physical safety to achieve this.
