Prince Harry’s return to Britain this week will come with a conspicuous absence of royal trappings: he will not be staying at Buckingham Palace, the palace confirmed, despite a spokesman for the duke telling media today that Harry had accepted an invitation to do so.
The BBC reported that Harry did not formally respond to an offer of accommodation at a royal residence by a deadline and was told over the weekend that he could no longer stay at Buckingham Palace in central London.
Harry is due in London and Birmingham for a series of charity engagements, a schedule that has fuelled fresh questions about whether the estranged royal would spend time with his father, King Charles, or base himself in a royal palace during the trip.
Prince Harry has lived in the US with his American wife Meghan since 2020
Instead, the lead-up to the visit has been dominated by a security dispute with the government, and Harry’s spokesman said yesterday that his wife Meghan and their children would not join him on the trip to London, though they could travel later when he visits Birmingham.
Under existing arrangements, the family were not eligible to receive taxpayer-funded protection while in the UK, except when they were within royal residences.
Harry has lived in the US since 2020 with his American wife Meghan, after they stepped down as working members of the royal family, saying they wanted financial independence and to escape what they described as media intrusion into their private lives.
In the six years since, Harry has publicly laid bare the extent of the rift with King Charles and his brother, Prince William, through interviews and his autobiography, bringing long-simmering family tensions into the open.
Harry criticised his brother William in his autobiography
King Charles, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, has barely seen his two grandchildren since they were born, though Harry said in May last year that he wanted the fighting to end.
Harry’s spokesman had previously indicated the duke would stay in a combination of royal and private accommodation.
On Monday, however, the spokesman said it was “disappointing” that the King’s offer had been “withdrawn at the last moment”, citing a looming judgment in Harry’s legal case against Associated Newspapers tomorrow as the reason.
Palace officials, according to the account given, said the appropriate hospitality and staffing provision was no longer available, and that the longstanding legal case had further complicated the situation in ways that could compromise the King’s constitutional position.
Sources said that while every effort was made to facilitate Harry’s stay, the royal household requires a minimum level of notice—both as a courtesy to staff and others involved and to ensure a royal residence can host him appropriately.
The palace decision was taken in consultation with King Charles, with the outcome communicated to Harry through the appropriate channels.
Additional reporting PA
