Prince Harry and Meghan are set to return to the UK with both their children for the first time(Image: alexilubomirski/Instagram)
For almost all of their lives, Prince Harry has deemed it too dangerous to bring his children Archie and Lilibet to the UK – but that is set to change.
Harry is due to return to the UK in July for a series of events marking One Year to Go before the Invictus Games are held in Birmingham in 2027. It was initially believed that Harry would be returning solo, following the pattern of many of his previous visits to his home country.
This time, however, he will be bringing wife Meghan, 44, and two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. This marks a major change after Harry previously has said he “can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK”.
So what has happened to change his mind?
Harry has been embroiled in a long term battle over the status of his security when he visits the UK – one he lost last year after multiple rounds in the courts. Before stepping back as a working royal, Harry enjoyed police protection, but that was stripped when he decided to leave his duties behind – something that he has argued was unfair, because the risk he faces has not changed.
Prince Harry and Meghan have forged a new life in America with Archie and Lilibet(Image: @meghan/Instagram)
Meghan and the children last came with Harry to the UK back in 2022, for celebrations marking the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, this is thought to be the only time King Charles has ever even met Lilibet. The kids haven’t stepped foot in the country since, but for her part, Meghan joined her husband for the Queen’s funeral in September that year, but also hasn’t returned since.
At the moment, Harry enjoys what the Home Office has called a “bespoke” security arrangement. This means he is provided with police security on a case-by-case basis, and he has to give three months notice of every visit. If the Government declines to provide him with police protection, he has to rely on a private security team he employs, but he has said that they don’t have the proper intelligence or jurisdiction to keep his family completely safe.
In December, he was granted a new risk assessment, which he was told would take “a matter of weeks”. It has now been completed but Harry has not been informed of the outcome.
King Charles hasn’t seen Archie and Lilibet since 2022
As The Mirror previously reported, Harry has accepted an offer to stay at a royal residence, understood to be Buckingham Palace, in order to make the family trip. “He has grown increasingly frustrated with the whole process and has had to alter his standpoint.
“From initially being told a decision would be made within a matter of weeks, it is now more than six months on. He (Harry) was determined to travel back to the UK with his family around the Invictus event, so he has finally made the decision to accept the offer of staying at a royal residence which he believes will be sufficient for this trip.”
Harry has refused offers to stay at a royal residence during his previous solo trips to the UK after leaving his role in 2020.
However, royal historian and author Andrew Lownie tells the Mirror he believes bridges have been built between father and son, and that King Charles is now working on bringing Harry and his estranged brother William back together.
The official photo for Archie’s christening in 2019(Image: SussexRoyal via Getty Images)
“I think that’s genuine reconciliation,” he said. “I think there’s a genuine personal desire to see your grandchildren and no one wants to fall out with their children. So I think that’s a genuine human element there. I think also the King thinks that having an estranged royal is not good for the optics.
“He’s then got to deal with William, who clearly is adamant that they have nothing to do with Harry. It’s a matter of banging some heads together and saying, ‘Look, we’re going to be a bit more grown up about this.’ So this is him exerting his authority a bit more. But I think there’s just a huge human desire to reconcile.”
Royal commentator Afua Acheampong-Hagan believes the trip heralds a major change in relations between the once-warring family. “There is a royal invitation, and that is good news,” she said. “Again, on a purely human level, that can only be a wonderful thing. I think it’s definitely a big old olive branch being extended there.”
