Prince Harry may cancel UK family visit after being refused police protection | Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex is understood to be reconsidering plans to bring his wife and children to the UK next month after his request for taxpayer-funded police protection was rejected.

Prince Harry and Meghan were planning their first trip to the UK as a family in four years for events related to the Invictus Games in Birmingham in July.

Last week, Prince Harry was said to be “thrilled” to see seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet reunited with King Charles during the visit. But the family trip now looks uncertain after the government rejected his request for police protection outside the royal residences.

A government spokesman said on Sunday: “The UK government’s safeguarding system is stringent and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about these arrangements because doing so could compromise their integrity and impact the safety of individuals.”

Harry was said to be “distraught” by the decision, which was made just days before the family were due to arrive, but was reportedly keen to find a way to make the trip work.

A spokesperson for Sussex has been contacted for comment.

Last year Harry lost a legal battle against the Home Office over automatic police protection while in the UK; he had previously claimed it was unsafe to bring his family without this protection.

He has since been given a full risk assessment and is awaiting a final decision from the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec), the Home Office committee responsible for authorizing such protection.

Ravec decisions are made by an independent president and its members include the royal family, the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and the Metropolitan Police.

Interior Minister Shabana Mahmood does not contribute to Ravec’s individual decisions.

Harry met his father at Clarence House in London last September; This was their first face-to-face meeting since February 2024. This was seen as the first step in improving relations between them.

Charles married his youngest grandchildren, Queen Elizabeth II. He has not been seen in person since 2022, during Elizabeth’s platinum anniversary celebrations.

It is not known whether the king plans to meet the children during his visit next month. But Harry reportedly told friends in the US that he was excited for his children to reconnect with their paternal grandparents.

A Los Angeles-based business partner of Harry and Meghan’s who lives in Montecito, California, told the Telegraph that “the heat has turned” between the king and his youngest son following Harry’s public attacks in his memoir Spare and in television interviews.