Prince Harry won’t stay Buckingham Palace This week during a high-profile visit to the United Kingdom because he failed to accept an invitation in a timely manner, Reuters reported on Monday.
Harry was due to bring his two children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, to England later this week for the first time in four years, but his spokesman said on Sunday that they would no longer follow their father to Britain because the family was unable to agree a security deal with the British government.
Harry and his wife Meghan have lived in California since 2020; Lilibet was born in the USA and Archie was born in London.
According to Reuters, a royal source said that Buckingham Palace sent Harry several requests to clarify an invitation to stay, but he did not respond before the deadline, leaving staff insufficient time to prepare for his arrival.
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The source told Reuters that Harry then officially declined the invitation, but later changed his mind.
Harry’s spokesman said the prince was unable to immediately accept the offer of accommodation because he had taken alternative security arrangements following the government’s decision not to provide protection, and that it was later withdrawn.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the Time100 Summit on April 23 at Jazz at Lincoln Center in Midtown.
The Stewart of NY/Getty Images)
The indecision over where he would stay is also a result of years of conflict between the prince and the rest of his family, from whom he became estranged in 2020 after moving to the United States. Tensions simmered for years and boiled over after his son’s release Memoirs, spare part, in 2023.
Harry is due in London on Tuesday and in Birmingham later this week for a series of charity events.
He will also be in the country to hear a British court’s verdict against MGN, publisher of the Daily Mail, over allegations of unlawful conduct.
Reuters’ royal source said the palace withdrew Harry’s offer to stay due to the king’s constitutional obligation to maintain distance from individual court proceedings.
Harry’s spokesperson also told the outlet that this was the reason Buckingham Palace withdrew its offer to stay at the “last moment.”
“It is therefore disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn, citing Tuesday’s ruling in the Associated Newspapers Limited case,” the spokesman said, after initially stating that Harry’s family would be staying at various royal and private residences.
Staying in a royal residence provides extra security measures, which remains a major point of contention between Harry and his royal relatives. The prince lost his automatic, publicly funded royal security in 2020 when he retired from public duties; The decision was challenged by Harry in court but was ultimately dismissed, and security arrangements for him will now be decided on a case-by-case basis by the British government.
Harry said the lack of police protection Britain has provided recently has meant he has been unable to bring his children into the country.
Harry’s father, King Charles III, has barely seen his two grandchildren since they were born, but in May last year Harry said he wanted the fighting to stop, sparking speculation of a meeting during that trip.
– with files from Reuters
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