Prince Harry and family’s UK visit ‘pulled from under their feet at 11th hour’

Prince Harry and Meghan were planning their first trip to Britain as a family in four years for events related to the Invictus Games, due to be held in Birmingham in July. The Duke of Sussex therefore fears his children will not meet King Charles in the coming days after their UK visit was “pulled out from under their feet at the 11th hour”.

The duke was said to have been excited for Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to be reunited with King Charles during the visit early next month. However, the family trip now appears uncertain after the government declined his request for police protection outside royal residences. A source close to Harry said on Sunday the prince was “distraught” at the development and that he would not subject his children to being “chased by paparazzi wherever they go from the moment they step off the plane”. They said Harry was exploring other options to make the trip happen but feared this would not be possible without proper security arrangements.

A government spokesperson said on Sunday: “The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”

An LA-based business associate of Harry and Meghan, who live in Montecito, California, told the Telegraph there had been a “warming of the frost” between the king and his youngest son after Harry’s public attacks in his memoir, Spare, and television interviews.