Prince Harry is “exploring every option” to bring his children to the UK next week.
Prince Harry is preparing to visit the UK
The Duke of Sussex – who lives in California – was said to have been reconsidering plans for wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and their kids Prince Archie, seven, and five-year-old Princess Lilibet to join him in his homeland, where he has five days of events and engagements planned, after being denied police protection.
But a spokesperson for Harry has stressed the planned visit still remains on track, with the prince’s father, King Charles, offering accommodation at a royal residence for part of the trip.
The representative told People magazine: “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.
“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.
“The Duke continues to explore every available option to enable the visit to proceed safely and to give his children the opportunity to enjoy the UK.”
According to The Telegraph, Harry had been told his application for a security package for the visit has been denied and an insider blasted the Home Office and the committee responsible for assessing their security of “wilfully creating conditions that are making it nearly impossible” for them to honour their commitments in Britain as they will only receive taxpayer-funded security when they are within royal residences.
A source close to the Sussexes told The Telegraph: “The precarious security situation and endless speculation about where the family will stay is making the planning and logistics for the private security team increasingly difficult.
“The Home Office and the Ravec board are wilfully creating conditions that are making it nearly impossible to move the family from A to B.
“There have been three separate incidents in the UK in less than 12 months that we know of, each involving a fixated person getting to within feet of the Duke.
“In some circumstances, because of the limitations on what private security have the authority to do, they weren’t able to remove the person.
“Harry is a big guy, a former soldier and generally pretty robust when it comes to handling these incidents. It’s what impact such moments would have on the kids that everyone is most concerned about.”
The 41-year-old prince – who is currently asked to provide 28 days’ notice when he plans to visit Britain, with security arrangements decided on a case-by-case basis – is said to be “desperate” for his children to see their grandfather, as he last saw them in 2022 when the family flew to the UK for the late Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Harry and Meghan’s own private security team have identified serious concerns in their own risk assessment.
A source said: “Protective security has always been about risk, not job title.
“A role may change, but the threats faced because of who someone is, where they come from, and what they have done in service of their country, do not simply disappear.”
A government spokesperson said: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
“It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
