Prince Harry's security fight threatens highly-anticipated reunion with King Charles: expert
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trip to the United Kingdom is already marred by drama after reports circulated that the visit was canceled due to security concerns.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to return to Britain this month, marking the first return to the U.K. in four years for Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie.
Issues surrounding official police protection for the Sussexes may damper their trek across the pond as Prince Harry fights for accommodations on a royal estate to best protect his family.
While the Duke and Duchess stepped away from senior royal responsibilities in 2020, royal expert Kate Nicholl told Fox News Digital that there's a "real sense of frustration" from within the palace as the trip stays in limbo.
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"Harry knows that he doesn't have automatic right to taxpayer-funded police protection when he's over here in the U.K.," Nicholl said. "Now, this trip has been several months in the planning. The king was made aware of it.
"The king was very happy to put Harry and Meghan and the children up in a royal residence where, by the way, they would have had full taxpayer police protection round the clock while they were in a royal residence... Where they don't get that taxpayer protection is if they're traveling around the country and Harry doing his Invictus Games."
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She added, "Now, Harry is a very wealthy man in his own right. He chose to step down from the royal family. He's not a working member of the royal family."
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Nicholl, co-host of "The Royals Uncensored" podcast, said the palace was "really going above and beyond" to accommodate the Sussexes.
The Duke and Duchess were reportedly told that an official review over their request for security was scheduled for March, only to learn that the assessment was never conducted by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), according to People magazine.
In December, Prince Harry wrote privately to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, requesting a full security risk assessment to reassess threat levels for the first time since 2020, according to The Guardian.
Last year, Prince Harry made a rare appearance at a two-day hearing for his appeal challenging the U.K. government’s decision to remove his security.
In court, Harry’s lawyers said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex "felt forced to step back from the role of full-time official working members of the royal family as they were considered they were not being protected by the institution." Harry had "wished to continue their duties in support of the late queen as privately funded members of the royal family."
In May 2025, the British royal lost his appeal. The Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that a committee had not treated the Duke of Sussex unfairly when it decided to review his protection on a case-by-case basis each time he visits his home country.
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Archewell confirmed earlier this week that Prince Harry's U.K. visit includes "both public and private engagements across the country," before noting that safe accommodations are only "one element" of an effective protection plan because "risk follows the person, not the place."
"The issue has never been accommodation," Archewell told Fox News Digital. "The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit.
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"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."
Archewell added, "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."
Nicholl noted that there was "a genuine sense of delight" at the palace surrounding Prince Harry's return to the U.K. with his children.
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"You've got to remember that the king is getting older," she said. "He's living with cancer. He hasn't seen his grandchildren since the late Queens Platinum Jubilee in 2022."
In 2020, Harry and Markle — who currently reside in California — made their royal exit, citing the unbearable intrusions of the British press and lack of support from the palace.
On Sept. 10, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Harry spent time with the king, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2024, at Clarence House. It was the first time they had met in more than a year.
"Putting aside his public position and his public role, he's just a grandfather who understandably wants to get to know his grandchildren," Nicholl said.