Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will not join Prince Harry in London next week, sources have confirmed, as a row over security arrangements threatens to overshadow the Duke of Sussex’s five-day trip to Britain. The royal couple had initially planned for Meghan to attend the start of the visit, which begins on Tuesday, but she and the children will now stay away from the capital, with no decision made on whether they will join him later in the week elsewhere in the UK.
The trip is intended to prepare for next year’s Invictus Games in Birmingham, an event Harry describes as his “second family”. But whether fairly or not, attention will focus on family tensions and any signs of reconciliation with his royal relations. The late change of plan, sources say, has not helped that cause. “You can almost imagine Palace officials rolling their eyes and muttering, ‘Nightmare’,” the BBC’s royal correspondent observed.
“Meghan Markle and children will not join Prince Harry in London next week due to security concerns.”
Harry has been intensely sensitive about his family’s safety since losing a legal battle with the government last year over the downgrading of his taxpayer-funded police protection after he stepped down as a working royal in 2020. A government spokesperson previously said: “The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
It is four years since Harry’s children have seen their grandfather, King Charles. A source said: “The hope is they can meet 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.” Buckingham Palace sources have stressed the monarch is not involved in decisions around Harry’s security.
If security concerns can be overcome and Meghan and the children do come for part of the visit, it will be the first time the Sussexes have all been together in the UK since the Platinum Jubilee in 2022. That seems like another era, as well as another reign. For now, Harry is determined to press ahead. “It’s understood Prince Harry is looking forward to seeing friends and family and that nothing is going to sour his chance to support his Invictus ‘second family’,” the BBC reported. The outcome of Harry’s court case against Associated Newspapers over unlawful information gathering is also expected this week, though Meghan will not be in the country when the ruling is published.