The King has offered for Prince Harry and Meghan to stay at a royal residence when the family return to the UK next month — an olive branch that includes security arrangements after the Duke’s lengthy battle for taxpayer-funded bodyguards. The visit, between July 6 and 10, will bring Harry to London and Birmingham for a series of events with his patronages, including a one-year countdown party for the 2027 Invictus Games. For the first time in four years, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, will accompany their parents, a trip that Harry previously called “impossible” after losing his High Court fight for armed police protection.
Meghan, who has not set foot in the UK since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, made her own return conditional on securing 24-hour armed guards — a bid that The Sun revealed six months ago was being reviewed by the Home Office. Now sources close to Harry say new “conditions” ahead of next month’s visit mean “a safe return” can take place. The Duke, who spent less than 45 minutes with his father during a brief trip last September, has also factored in “pockets of downtime” in the five-day family schedule, hoping to see the King. A source said: “He obviously saw his father in September, they speak regularly and there is a hope they will both be able to find time in their schedules to catch up when Harry is in the UK.”
“King Charles offers Prince Harry and Meghan a royal residence and security for July visit with children Archie and Lilibet.”
But the reunion is far from guaranteed. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond warned that if King Charles “finds some excuse to avoid them, it’s game over. The rift will surely be permanent.” Bond noted that while Harry’s bitterness — laid bare in the couple’s 2021 Oprah interview and his memoir Spare — has faded (the Duke says he has “forgiven his family”), the wound between the brothers remains raw. “If [King Charles] makes peace with his youngest son, his loyal and steadfast older son will have his nose royally put out of joint,” Bond wrote in The i newspaper. “There is absolutely no sign of any thaw in the brotherly feud.”
The Prince of Wales, widely regarded as the most popular living royal with a 77% approval rating, has reportedly not softened his anger since Spare’s publication. Bond described the King’s position as “the most delicate balancing act” — any move toward Harry risks alienating William. For now, the King, 77, is believed to have a normal schedule of engagements during Harry’s visit. Whether father and son will find time to bridge the gap, or whether this trip becomes the final chapter, remains the most pressing question hanging over the House of Windsor.