london —
The Duchess of Sussex, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will not accompany Prince Harry when he visits London next week, due to ongoing disagreements over the family’s police protection.
However, it is still possible that the Sussexes will attend engagements elsewhere in the UK. CNN understands no decisions have been made about the family joining the Duke for other parts of the visit, which will take place outside the British capital.
Prince Harry had hoped to bring Meghan Markle and their two young children on the five-day visit, but he feared for his family’s safety as they were not protected by taxpayers while in the UK.
Prince Harry, fifth in line to the British throne, had formally offered police protection during the trip, but his team was reportedly told that protection would not be provided.
In recent days, Prince Harry, 41, has been said to be exploring all options to get his family safely across the Atlantic, and a spokesperson for the prince told CNN on Friday that the Duke’s security personnel are considering options to make the visit happen in some way.
Next week’s visit will mark the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham, the sporting competition for military personnel injured in the line of duty that Prince Harry founded more than a decade ago. He also plans to do other work in Midland related to other causes he supports.
Last week there was also confusion over where the family would stay. CNN was told that the Sussexes will be staying in both private accommodation and the royal residence. However, Buckingham Palace later clarified that the royal family had not heard whether the Sussexes had accepted King Charles’ invitation.
They will automatically be provided police protection while on royal grounds.
Prince Harry has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with the British government after his security was downgraded by the Royal Family and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) when he and Duchess Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020. Prince Harry lost a challenge to the Home Office over this decision in the UK Court of Appeal last year. He has since been awaiting review by RAVEC’s Risk Management Committee, which has not yet taken place.
“Prince Harry’s program in the UK includes public and private engagement across the country. Risk follows people, not places, so safe accommodation is just one element of an effective protective security plan,” a spokesperson for the prince said earlier this week.
“Accommodation has never been an issue. The question is whether adequate and proportionate protection is provided throughout the duration of the visit. The independent risk management committee that RAVEC itself determined was necessary last November has not yet met.”
The spokesperson added: “Without that independent assessment, it is therefore difficult to see how the proportionality of the current arrangements can be ensured.”
A British government spokesperson previously described the country’s protective security system as “rigorous and appropriate”.
“It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about these agreements because doing so could compromise their integrity and impact the safety of individuals,” the spokesperson continued.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, who live in California, left the UK in 2020 after stepping back from royal life and have since had a long-running rift with their family in public.
In television interviews and memoirs, the couple cited a toxic cocktail of tabloid intrusion, deep racism in the British system, online abuse and complicated family relationships as reasons for their departure, alongside a desire for financial independence.
There were hopes that King Charles might be reunited with his young grandchildren during next week’s visit. Prince Charles last saw his entire family four years ago when he was in England for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Since then, Prince Harry has returned to the UK on short notice several times, most famously to attend his grandmother’s funeral in 2022 and his father’s coronation in 2023.
The British King recently traveled to the United States for a state visit to Washington, D.C., New York and Virginia, but his busy schedule prevented him from seeing his son on the West Coast.
However, Prince Charles and Prince Harry were able to reunite for the first time in 19 months last September when they had tea at Clarence House in London. The face-to-face meeting took place while the king was undergoing treatment for cancer, sparking speculation that it could end years of feuding within the royal family. Although the two have reportedly stayed in touch since then, Prince Harry still appears to be estranged from his younger brother Prince William.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
