Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Last week, a spokesperson for Prince Harry announced that Harry would be returning to the U.K. with Meghan Markle and their children in tow. This would be the family’s first trip to Harry’s home country since 2022, when they attended the festivities for Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee. Finally, the children would get some time with their grandfather, King Charles, and Harry might even get something close to a reconciliation with his father. That sounds really nice, right? Well, maybe not — now it seems like he might not be able to bring any family members at all. Here’s what’s going on.
Harry’s trip across the pond is meant to mark one year until the Invictus Games — the Olympics-style competition for wounded veterans that Harry launched in 2014 — which will be held in Birmingham next summer. On Friday, multiple outlets reported that Meghan, Lilibet, and Archie would be joining Harry in England. People reported that Harry and Meghan had several meetings and public appearances planned, all to do with the Invictus Games or Harry’s other charitable endeavors. (Archie and Lilibet were not going to make any appearances.)
Harry and Charles have not seen much of each other in recent years. In 2024, after Charles announced his cancer diagnosis, Harry flew to London to see him, only for the king to reportedly leave 45 minutes after his son arrived. Last year, during his most recent trip, Harry and Charles had what the Palace described as a brief “private tea” at Clarence House, the king’s London residence, which reportedly lasted about 55 minutes.
Now, it seems like Charles and Harry might see each other for more than an hour. Earlier this month, the BBC reported that Harry and Meghan had been offered a royal residence to stay in during their visit. (They have reportedly accepted the offer.) Later, The Sun also reported that King Charles himself had offered to pay for security for the Sussexes, which has long been Harry’s concern with bringing his children to the U.K.
As always, it’s the security. Harry has long fought for taxpayer-funded security for his family in the U.K., which he and Meghan lost when they stepped down from being working royals. In an interview last year, he said that security has “always been the sticking point” with his family. “I would love reconciliation with my family,” Harry told the BBC after once again being denied a government security detail. “There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”
It seemed like the father and son were on track for that reconciliation until Friday, when shortly after announcing that the whole family would be coming, Harry apparently learned that his formal request for police security while in the U.K. had again been denied. On Sunday, the BBC reported that the decision was forcing Harry to reconsider bringing Meghan and the kids to the U.K.
A source told The Guardian that Harry was “distraught” by the decision, claiming that the family’s plans had “been pulled out from under their feet at the 11th hour.” The source added that the hope is for Archie and Lilibet to see their grandfather, but “there is no way that can happen if they are chased by paparazzi wherever they go from the moment they step off the plane.”
Harry is certainly trying his best. On Monday, his spokesperson told People that the family trip is (tentatively) still on. “Prince Harry’s programme in the United Kingdom includes both public and private engagements across the country. Safe accommodation is only one element of an effective protective security plan because risk follows the person, not the place,” the spokesperson said in a statement to the tabloid. “The Duke continues to explore every available option to enable the visit to proceed safely and to give his children the opportunity to enjoy the U.K.”
To be honest, it seems like none of this mess really matters to him because he had no intention of seeing his brother anyway. William and Harry have had an icy relationship since the latter’s departure from the U.K., one that was reportedly exacerbated by both the infamous Oprah interview and Harry’s tell-all memoir. While tensions seem to have eased between Harry and Charles, William is still holding a grudge. Last week, Vanity Fair reported that William was upset that Charles was “bending over backwards” to facilitate Harry’s visit.
“William won’t be seeing his brother. I suspect he will make sure he’s miles away when Harry visits to avoid any awkward encounters,” a source told the magazine. “Harry has tried to make contact repeatedly, but William won’t take his calls. He is not minded to a reconciliation at all, and the fact that his father is bending over backwards to make Harry’s visit happen has become the source of deep irritation for William.”
We already know that Meghan is a professional hostess and will almost definitely bring a gift. Whether or not she winds up going, best believe that Charles will be getting something from As Ever. He already has his own jam-and-honey thing going on, so I imagine she wouldn’t want to give him either of those. (The relationship is too delicate right now.) The safest bet would be edible flowers.
