For the Sussex family’s UK trip, I expect that there will be some news this weekend, and I expect that there will be some additional roadblocks thrown in Prince Harry and Meghan’s path. I still think that Thomas Markle will be dusted off, probably for a big Mail on Sunday story. If we know anything about Harry’s terrible brother and father, it’s that they will always rely on a wealth of lies, shenanigans and chicanery. In the meantime, people are still focused on the security issue. According to Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair, Harry has been “close to tears” since he learned one week ago that his family would receive zero security.
Prince Harry is still intending to bring his family to the UK next week despite a fiasco over his security arrangements that has left him “close to tears,” a source tells Vanity Fair.
Harry, whose trip is in support of next year’s Invictus Games in Birmingham, confirmed to news outlets on Friday that he was bringing his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to England for the family’s first visit back to the UK since 2022. But within hours of issuing the statements, the duke performed an extraordinary U-turn and was reportedly reconsidering bringing his family, after he was told that the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) would not be providing full-time police protection during the trip.
Tax-payer-funded security is determined on a case-by-case basis by RAVEC and is usually only offered to full-time working members of the royal family. (When Vanity Fair contacted the Home Office, a spokesman confirmed its position remained the same.)
Despite the setback, a spokesperson for Prince Harry has said he is currently exploring “every available option” to come over as a family on July 7.
While King Charles has offered the family a suite of rooms at a royal residence—believed to be Buckingham Palace, where they would be completely secure—the Sussexes, who were planning to travel around the country, have been told they will not receive full police protection, which might have included a police motorcade for when they are traveling. (Representatives for the Sussexes and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
Despite not having round-the-clock security since Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020, Harry had hoped the security arrangements would be changed for the purposes of the trip. When RAVEC informed the Sussexes this would not be the case, hours after they reportedly issued a detailed op note about the engagements they planned to carry out, the Duke of Sussex “was devastated and close to tears,” a source told Vanity Fair.
“He had assumed that because he was bringing the kids, and the king had made a royal residence available to them, he would get what he has been pushing for all along—full-time police protection. That has not been the case,” the source said. “The king has made it clear that while he wants to see his estranged son and grandchildren, he will not intervene in security matters.”
“From speaking to people close to him, it’s clear he is stressed and very disappointed in RAVEC’s decision not to give his family the security he believes they need to have to be safe when they are traveling,” the source added.
“The king will not intervene in security matters” then why was the risk assessment paused? A more honest statement would be “the king will not intervene in security matters to ensure that Harry and his family are safe, but the king will absolutely intervene to punish Harry for leaving.” Nicholl is a mouthpiece for Prince William and Kate in particular, and you can see that in her framing, as if Harry should have known better to not expect security… when he’s in the UK on official business for Invictus, which the UK is hosting. As for Harry being close to tears… I know that man is bumming out Meghan on their Portuguese vacation. I hope he hasn’t spent this entire week dealing with this.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram.
