The Duchess of Sussex and the couple’s two young children will not accompany Prince Harry to London on Monday after a request for additional security was rejected.
The move marks the latest development in what have reportedly been 10 days of tense discussions, with the negotiations said to have left Harry deeply upset and, according to claims, “in tears.”
Harry is expected to travel to London on his own on Monday. It remains unclear whether he has taken up King Charles’s offer of accommodation at a royal property, with several reports suggesting private apartments at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle had been made available.
However, sources close to the Sussexes have not ruled out the possibility that Meghan and the children could travel to the UK later in the week. Archie and Lilibet have not seen King Charles since 2022.
Meghan is scheduled to join Harry at an event in Birmingham on Friday to support next year’s Invictus Games, the competition for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans that Harry founded in 2014.
It is understood the Duke and Duchess could bring Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, with them when they visit other parts of the UK.
Sources have previously claimed there are “real and credible threats” facing Harry and his family in London, including alleged terrorism-related threats.
The Sussexes’ planned five-day visit to the UK has already been overshadowed by tension, uncertainty and behind-the-scenes turmoil.
The Duchess of Sussex, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will not travel to London on Monday after a request for police protection was denied, however they may still visit the UK
It is understood Prince Harry will meet his father King Charles during the visit, with plans to see each other made privately between them
Harry remains enraged that he does not receive around-the-clock police protection during his trips to the UK.
Instead he has to give three weeks’ notice of his visits which are assessed on a ‘case by case’ basis.
Harry’s team originally briefed the Press that he was coming with his wife and children – Meghan has not visited the UK since the Queen’s funeral in September 2022 – but, less than 24 hours later, said he feared for their safety if they came without full-time taxpayer-funded armed police protection and his spokesman said the family would no longer accompany him.
But now Harry’s team are saying that while the family will not travel to London with him there is a chance they may join him during other parts of his UK visit.
It is thought he wants to take his children to his mother Princess Diana’s family home, Althorp, where she is buried on a private island in the middle of a lake.
A source said: ‘Harry longs to bring his children to the UK, to show them where he comes from and to introduce them to their heritage. And he wants to take them to Althorp which is where Diana was raised and where she rests.
‘It’s important to him that the English side of their heritage is part of their life. But their security is everything. There are real and credible threats and he will not put his family in danger.’
Harry and Meghan had planned to attend other charity events in the UK including a visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London.
Meghan is expected to make her first return to the UK since 2022, accompanied by her children Prince Archie, 7, and five-year-old Lilibet
It is thought Harry will now attend the London events solo.
The Sussex drama has been going on all week.
The family is currently in Europe, possibly at their holiday villa in Portugal, and had been scheduled to travel together on Monday.
The Mail understands there are tentative plans to see members of the Royal Family, including the King, but in a private capacity with courtiers telling the Sussexes they cannot release any photographs of any reunion.
Prince William and Princess Kate are unlikely to see the Sussexes during their visit.
Meghan and Harry flew to Canada and then the US during Megxit in March 2020 when they stepped down as working members of the Royal Family.
They live in a £14million mansion in Montecito and friends say both Lilibet and Archie have strong American accents.
Harry has previously said it is his ‘ardent wish’ for his children to know about their British heritage.
Meghan’s jam-making business in the US has not been the roaring success she hoped it would be and their $100million Netflix deal was cancelled last year.
A Netflix source said: ‘They need a strong connection to the UK to be relevant in the US. People only care about the fact that Harry is Diana’s son. Their only currency is their proximity to the Royal Family, certainly as far as America is concerned. They need to maintain their links to the King.’
Harry has long argued that security concerns have prevented him bringing his family to Britain after his taxpayer-funded protection changed – he says he wants his children to visit
Critics have accused Harry of using ’emotional blackmail’ by flip-flopping on his decision about whether to bring his children to the UK.
The King, who is very close to his other grandchildren, has made it clear he would love to see Archie and Lilibet, particularly as he has been fighting cancer.
Harry is due to attend events for WellChild and Scotty’s Little Soldiers during his visit.
The ruling in his case against Associated Newspapers is due on Tuesday, as Harry makes his first speech in the UK.
He and others accused the Daily Mail of using unlawful means to produce stories, a charge the Daily Mail vehemently denies.
If he loses the case he could potentially face millions of pounds in legal fees.
