Meghan and children won’t join Harry in London as questions remain about UK trip

Next week, when the Duke of Sussex visits London, he will not be accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two children, according to reports. The decision comes after the Government rejected his request for police protection beyond royal residences. It means hopes for a reunion with King Charles and the Sussexes and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, may not be realised. Security concerns Harry is set to arrive in the UK this week for events to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham. However, he had planned to travel to London with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and their children, providing they were granted police protection. Harry and Meghan have not returned to the UK as a couple since 2022, although the Duke has travelled on his own since then. Harry’s own private security firm recently commissioned a report detailing dozens of threats and potential attacks facing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the UK. However, since losing a legal battle with the government over his level of security last year, he has been waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board, part of the process by which the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) rules on his security requirements. The judges in the court court case last year ruled that Harry’s state security provision would be assessed on a case-by-case basis as he is an “infrequent” visitor to the UK. A decision about the arrangements for his upcoming visit has yet to be made by Ravec, which is part of the Home Office and includes members of royal household, Home Office, Cabinet Office and Metropolitan Police. It it is possible that Meghan, Archie and Lilibet could join him later in the trip when he visits the West Midlands. Duke and Duchess of Sussex at The Invictus Games in The Hague in 2022. (Photo: Remko de Waal / ANP / AFP via Getty Images) “Prince Harry’s programme in the United Kingdom includes both public and private engagements across the country. Safe accommodation is only one element of an effective protective security plan because risk follows the person, not the place,” his spokesperson said earlier this week. “The issue has never been accommodation. The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit. The independent Risk Management Board that Ravec itself decided was necessary last November has still not taken place. “It is therefore difficult to understand how the proportionality of the current arrangements can credibly be maintained without that independent assessment.” A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.” Why is Prince Harry visiting? The Duchess of Sussex had been expected to make an appearance in Birmingham on Friday, where Harry will promote the Invictus Games, his sporting event for wounded military veterans, which is taking place next year. The prince is also due to attend a number of charitable engagements during his trip, including a visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, which Meghan was due to accompany him on, but now won’t be able to. There were reports that the later part of the trip would include a visit to Althorp in Northampton, the family estate of Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. It was believed Prince Harry had also planned to take his wife and children to his mother’s private grave on the estate. The King and Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle ahead of the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II. (Photo: David Rose / POOL / AFP) Will he visit the King? It has been four years since Archie and Lilibet last saw their grandfather in person at the late Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations. The King has offered to put the family up at an unnamed royal residence, but is reportedly yet to receive a response. The King also has a number of public appearances scheduled for next week, so it is unclear when a meeting with Charles and his younger son could be arranged. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliam told The i Paper he believes that Prince Harry’s visit to promote the Invictus Games is possibly an attempt to set up a public meeting with the King and the Sussexes next year. “I think the plan is for the King to attend next year,” he said. “It’s important for him as head of the armed forces to be seen in attendance.”