Prince Harry is considering leaving his wife and children at home in California when he comes to the UK next week, despite pledging to bring them to his home country for the first time in many years.
The Duke of Sussex is blaming the ongoing arguments over his security arrangements and is accusing those in charge of going back on their word.
Harry is due to attend a number of charity engagements next week, which includes marking the one year to go until the Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027.
In a surprise move, his office had previously said Meghan and the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet, would be coming with them.
King Charles has not seen his grandchildren since they visited London for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 and Meghan has not been to the UK since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in the September of that year.
Prince Harry’s automatic security protection was removed when he left the Royal Family and moved to the USA and he has since claimed it is not safe to bring his family to his country of birth.
Senior staff in the Sussexes’ office say there are multiple threats to target Harry and the online abuse directed at his wife, makes her vulnerable to an attack when she is in the UK.
The committee in charge of royal security, known as RAVEC, ruled that the Duke and his family should not get taxpayer-funded security but Harry has always claimed the decisions were influenced by those working for the Royal Family, rather than on security grounds alone.
The Duke of Sussex says he is aware of multiple threats against him, including death threats, and despite being given high-level security when he’s travelled to places like Ukraine, Colombia and Nigeria, he is only offered the phone number of a police liaison officer when he travels to Britain.
While Harry and Meghan pay for their own security personnel, as many celebrities do, they do not get access to state-level intelligence from MI5 and MI6 like officers do in the Metropolitan Police and other forces.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex take part in a sailing event with members of Invictus Australia on day four of the royal trip in April. Credit: AP
Sources in Harry’s team say that is a bizarre decision given he is the son of the Monarch and remains fifth in line to the throne and his children are sixth and seventh in the line of succession.
Harry’s staff also point to the fact that high profile celebrities like Taylor Swift get state-funded security because of the threats against her, but he does not.
They blame those around the King, who sit on the board of the RAVEC committee for refusing to carry out a new risk assessment on the Sussex family which has not happened since 2020.
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Sources at Buckingham Palace will not comment on security arrangements but have confirmed they offered for Harry and Meghan to stay at a royal residence during their stay in the UK.
They claim that offer has not been accepted by the Sussexes.
Those in Harry’s camp claim they were promised a new Risk Management Board by the RAVEC Committee, but it has not been carried out.
They have once again blamed the “grey suits” in the palace – referring to the senior staff around the King, rather than the King himself.
Sources close to Prince Harry say 3 of the nine members of the RAVEC Board – (so one third) are made up of staff from Buckingham Palace and Prince William’s office – and suggest that is the real reason Harry is not being offered a security review.
Prince Harry is now understood to be deciding whether it is safe to being his wife and children with him.
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