Prince Harry won’t stay at Buckingham Palace this week during a highly publicized visit to the U.K. because he failed to simply accept an invite in time, Reuters reported on Monday.
Harry was speculated to bring his two children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, to England for the primary time in 4 years later this week, but his spokesperson said Sunday that they might now not join their father in Britain after the family was unable to agree on a security cope with the British government.
Harry and his wife, Meghan, have lived in California since 2020; Lilibet was born within the U.S., and Archie was born in London.
In response to Reuters, a royal source said that Buckingham Palace sent Harry several requests for clarification regarding an invite to remain, but he didn’t respond before the deadline, leaving staff without enough time to arrange for his arrival.
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The source told Reuters that Harry then formally declined the invite but later modified his mind.
Harry’s spokesperson said the prince had been unable to simply accept the accommodation offer immediately because he was making alternative security arrangements following the federal government’s decision not to supply protection, and that it was later withdrawn.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Time100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Midtown on April 23.
The Stewart of NY/ Getty Images)
The indecision over where he would stay also follows years of conflict between the prince and the remainder of his family, with whom he became estranged in 2020 after moving to the U.S. Tensions simmered for years and bubbled over after the discharge of his memoir, Spare, in 2023.
Harry is due in London on Tuesday and Birmingham later this week for a series of charity engagements.
He will even be within the country to listen to the decision of a U.K. court case against MGN, the publisher of the Each day Mail, over allegations of illegal behaviour.
Reuters’ royal source said the palace withdrew Harry’s offer to remain due to the King’s constitutional obligations to keep up distance from individual legal proceedings.
Harry’s spokesperson also told the outlet this was behind Buckingham Palace’s withdrawal of the offer to remain at “the last moment.”
“It’s subsequently disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn, with Tuesday’s judgment within the Associated Newspapers Limited case cited because the reason,” the spokesperson said, after originally stating that Harry’s family can be staying in a wide range of royal and personal residences.
Staying at a royal residence ensures additional security measures, which have remained a serious point of contention between Harry and his royal relatives. The prince lost his automatic, publicly funded royal security in 2020 when he stepped back from public duties; the choice was challenged by Harry in court but was ultimately dismissed, and security provisions for him at the moment are selected a case-by-case basis by the British government.
Harry has said the dearth of police protection offered by Britain in recent times has meant he has been unable to bring his children to the country.
Harry’s father, King Charles III, has barely seen his two grandchildren since they were born, but in May last yr, Harry said he wanted the fighting to stop, sparking speculation a couple of meeting during this trip.
— with files from Reuters
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