Prince Harry set to arrive in U.K. amid security spat

Britain's Prince Harry is due to arrive back in the UK, but without his wife, Meghan, and two children as had originally been planned. Photo by Genya Savilov /AFP

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Prince Harry was set to arrive in Britain on Monday for a five-day visit expected to go ahead mostly without his wife and children after they were reportedly refused police protection.

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Harry’s visit has been hit by several snags as plans for his family to accompany him fell through, his accommodation at Buckingham Palace was in disarray and a judgement in his latest legal battle against British tabloids loomed.

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The visit, to mark the one-year countdown to next year’s Invictus Games for wounded veterans, was meant to be Harry’s first family trip back to the UK in four years.

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But a source close to the Duke of Sussex told AFP at the weekend that Harry’s wife Meghan, son Archie and daughter Lilibet would not accompany him on the London leg of the trip after the family was refused security.

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FILE: Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan hold their baby son Archie as they meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife at the Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town on September 25, 2019. Photo by HENK KRUGER /POOL/AFP via Getty Images

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Arrangements for the rest of the trip were still under consideration, the source said, leaving it unclear whether the whole family would visit but stay outside the capital.

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Contradictory statements about plans to stay at Buckingham Palace while in London also added to the prince’s headaches.

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Just ahead of Harry’s expected arrival on Monday, Buckingham Palace contradicted the Duke of Sussex’s team to say that he would not be staying at the palace after missing a deadline to accept the accommodation offer.

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Harry’s spokesman said it was “disappointing” the offer to be hosted by his father King Charles III had been “withdrawn at the last moment”, in a statement sent to AFP.

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It was unclear whether the prince would meet his father during this week’s trip. He is last understood to have met the king, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, at the monarch’s London residence Clarence House in September 2025.

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Britain’s Catherine, Princess of Wales (C) talks to Ascot Trustee Harry Morley (L) as she waits with Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales to present the awards in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes horse race on the second day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting in Ascot, west of London, on June 17, 2026. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS /AFP via Getty Images

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Harry and Meghan left Britain for North America in 2020 and stepped back from royal duties amid a bitter feud with the royals, which worsened as Harry published his tell-all memoir “Spare” and was embroiled in legal battles in the UK.

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The prince has since said he wishes to reconcile with his father, but relations appeared frosty on the eve of the visit.

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Lawsuit ruling expected

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Harry’s trip was also to coincide with the delivery of a judgement, expected Tuesday, in a case against Associated Newspapers, owner of the Daily Mail, over alleged unlawful information gathering.

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The High Court trial earlier this year saw Harry give an emotional testimony as the prince, pop star Elton John, actor Elizabeth Hurley and other public figures accused the tabloid publisher of invading their privacy.

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It was the third, and set to be final, case brought by the Duke of Sussex in his acrimonious legal battle with the British press, that has further strained relations with the royals.

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The prince has also been involved in other legal spats, including over his police protection in the UK.

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla disembark their plane as they arrive on day one of their State Visit to the United States, on April 27, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Photo by Win McNamee /Getty Images

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Last year, Harry said he felt unable to bring his family to the UK after losing a court case to have his security restored during UK visits.