The Duke of Sussex fears his children will not meet King Charles in the coming days after their UK visit was “pulled out from under their feet at the 11th hour”.
Prince Harry and Meghan were planning their first trip to Britain as a family in four years for events related to the Invictus Games, due to be held in Birmingham in July.
The duke was said to have been excited for Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to be reunited with King Charles during the visit early next month.
However, the family trip now appears uncertain after the government declined his request for police protection outside royal residences.
A source close to Harry said on Sunday the prince was “distraught” at the development and that he would not subject his children to being “chased by paparazzi wherever they go from the moment they step off the plane”.
They said Harry was exploring other options to make the trip happen but feared this would not be possible without proper security arrangements.
The source told the Guardian: “Their plans to see family, friends and visit various charitable causes close to the duke’s heart have been pulled out from under their feet at the 11th hour. He’s looking at every option to try and get the family here safely and keep them safe when they’re on the ground. If he can find a way to do that he will.
“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. He won’t put his children through that.”
The visit would have been the first time Charles had seen his youngest grandchildren in person since 2022, during the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations.
Last year Harry lost a legal battle against the Home Office concerning automatic police protection while in the UK, having previously claimed it was not safe to bring his family without it.
He has since been granted a full risk assessment and had been awaiting a final decision from the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec), the Home Office committee responsible for authorising such protection.
Ravec decisions are taken by an independent chair and its membership includes the royal household, Home Office, Cabinet Office and Metropolitan Police.
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The home secretary, in this case Shabana Mahmood, does not contribute to individual Ravec decisions.
A government spokesperson said on Sunday: “The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
Harry met his father last September at Clarence House in London, their first face-to-face meeting since February 2024. It was seen as a first step in improving relations between them.
An LA-based business associate of Harry and Meghan, who live in Montecito, California, told the Telegraph there had been a “warming of the frost” between the king and his youngest son after Harry’s public attacks in his memoir, Spare, and television interviews.
