Prince Harry will not stay at Buckingham Palace for UK visit after he says invite ‘was withdrawn’
It has been stated that the Duke of Sussex will not stay at Buckingham Palace on his return to England after accommodation arrangements for his trip turned into chaos.
A spokesman for Prince Harry described the situation as “disappointing” and said the King’s offer had been “withdrawn at the last moment” due to the upcoming Supreme Court decision against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) on Tuesday.
As frustration grows on both sides, the duke is understood to have initially rejected the offer made last Saturday for himself and his family, who are no longer accompanying him to London. However, he later made a U-turn and wanted to stay on his own for a night.
Buckingham Palace stated that appropriate hospitality and staffing was no longer available. The Palace also reportedly believes that the duke’s long-running legal case has complicated the matter and could potentially jeopardize the King’s constitutional position.
While efforts are being made to facilitate Harry’s stay, the Royal Family is said to have required a minimum of notice to ensure appropriate hospitality at the royal residence as a courtesy to staff and others involved.
Prince Harry and a group of other dignitaries are awaiting Tuesday’s decision from Mr Justice Nicklin, which will decide the outcome of their case against the Supreme Court. Daily Mail‘s publisher.
The Sussex camp has raised questions about whether the offer of a royal residence bed will actually be available after Harry accepts it. He is said to have acted in good faith throughout the process and spent much of last week making alternative security arrangements before formally accepting the offer for himself. It is understood that private meetings also took place between the Duke and his father.
Harry and his team were reportedly disappointed that the reasons given for withdrawing the offer shifted from his initial refusal to accept accommodation to the ANL’s imminent legal decision.
An 11-week hearing at the High Court in London earlier this year heard allegations from Harry and others, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, of illegal information collection against ANL.
The allegations include wiretapping voicemails, tapping landlines and obtaining information through deception, commonly referred to as “swearing”, carried out by private detectives, freelance journalists and ANL staff. ANL vehemently denies the allegations, saying it “provides a complete defense on the merits to all parts of the allegations” and that the lawsuits were filed too late.
A spokesman for the duke said: “I am aware that there have been multiple briefings from Buckingham Palace over the past week that the duke had not accepted the offer of accommodation at the royal residence. Following Ravec’s decision not to provide security for his family, the duke spent last week making alternative security arrangements. Once these arrangements were made he was able to formally accept the offer of weekend accommodation for himself.”
They added: “It is therefore disappointing that the offer has been withdrawn, citing Tuesday’s decision in the Associated Newspapers Limited case. However, Buckingham Palace has been aware of this decision since last Thursday. It is therefore unclear why it withdrew the offer of accommodation at the last minute after formally accepting it.”
It was reported that the palace’s decision was taken in consultation with the King and the result was conveyed to Harry through official channels. It is understood Harry and his family will be provided with accommodation at the royal residence for future visits.
It was announced over the weekend that Meghan, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will not be joining Harry in London due to ongoing concerns for their safety. No decision has been made as to whether the family will join the Duke on other parts of his visit to England outside the capital; reports suggested his family was hoping to take them to see the final resting place of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in Althorp, Northamptonshire.
It remains unclear whether Harry will see his father during his trip, or whether his children will be reunited with their grandfather, who is being treated for cancer, for the first time in four years. The King has a busy schedule this week, while Harry will appear over five days in London and Birmingham, including the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.
The Duke was awaiting review by the risk management board, which is part of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Personalities of the Royal Family and Public Persons (Ravec) process to determine security requirements, but learned on Friday that this had not yet happened. The Sussexes do not benefit from taxpayer-funded protection when they are in the UK outside their royal residence.
Prince Harry has previously criticized his father Charles, his stepmother the Queen, his brother the Prince of Wales and his sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, various interviews and his autobiography. not being able to resistSince leaving the working monarchy six years ago.
