Prince Harry‘s plan to bring his whole family home is unraveling in real time. The Duke of Sussex, 41, is due in the UK on Tuesday to mark one year until the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham, with Meghan Markle, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, set to join him for the family’s first visit together since 2022. Instead, insiders say Harry is falling apart over a security decision that landed just after the plans went public.
According to Vanity Fair, the duke is “devastated and close to tears” after learning his application for police protection was denied, with taxpayer-funded security reportedly covering the family only while inside royal residences. A source told The Mirror that “Harry is devastated and in absolute turmoil over this decision.” The blow reopens an old wound: Harry lost his court battle last year to have police protection restored and must now apply on a case-by-case basis.
By Saturday, the other shoe dropped. CNN and Hello! both reported that Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet will not join Harry for the London portion of the visit, though no decision has been made on the rest of the trip. His spokesperson was blunt, saying “risk follows the person, not the place,” and that the issue “is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit.“
Prince Harry’s Plan to Take His Kids to Princess Diana’s Grave Now in Jeopardy
Reports say Harry hoped to bring Archie and Lilibet to Althorp, the Spencer estate where Princess Diana is buried, for the very first time, with the rumored visit timed to coincide with what would have been her 65th birthday. The trip was also expected to reunite the children with King Charles, who has not seen his grandchildren in person since 2022.
The king has reportedly offered the family a stay at a royal residence, but a source told Vanity Fair that “he will not intervene in security matters.” Royal author Robert Jobson summed it up to Newsweek: “Every time Harry comes to town the briefings contradict each other. One voice calls it a peace mission. Another calls it a trap. They cannot all be true. That noise is the sound of a divided crown.“
The London exclusion split royal watchers down the middle. “I hate this for Prince Harry. All he wanted was to have his family with him to create special memories and show his children their heritage.” one fan wrote. Others saw sense in it, with one admitting, “To tell you the truth, I am relieved,” and another putting it bluntly: “It’s better to be safe than sorry!!” The cynics needed only four words: “They were never coming.“
Whether Archie and Lilibet see their grandfather at all this trip may now come down to the Birmingham leg.
