Prince Harry’s office claims the Duke of Sussex has accepted an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace during his visit to the UK, GB News can exclusively reveal.
After much speculation and concerns over security, the King’s son is expected to travel to London later today ahead of a series of charity engagements.
His wife, Meghan Markle, and their children will not accompany him to London, but may join Prince Harry in Birmingham later this week.
However, Buckingham Palace aides have denied the Duke of Sussex will be staying in the official London residence.
Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the UK monarch, has 24-hour security for 365 days of the year, which is important to Harry given the fact that his automatic state-funded protection was stripped away in 2020 after he and Meghan stepped back as working senior royals.
The highly ceremonial Changing of the Guard takes place at 11:00am on select days, when guards rotate shifts. Guards remain on duty throughout the night, wearing operational uniforms and carrying rifles to patrol the Palace grounds.
Individual sentries rotate on shifts, typically spending two hours on active duty and four hours off.
The Duke of Sussex had hoped to reunite his two children with their estranged grandfather, King Charles III. However, after a request for police protection was denied, GB News understands Harry decided it would not be safe to bring his children to the capital.
Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, have not visited the UK since 2022.
The Duke of Sussex is due in Birmingham for the Invictus Games’ One Year To Go ceremony, and it is believed he is very keen to take the children to visit his mother’s grave in Northamptonshire.
Princess Diana was laid to rest at Althorp Park, the Spencer family’s ancestral estate, in 1997.
According to the website for the stately home, Althorp House will be closed between July 10 and July 11.
Harry’s team had confirmed last month that he intended to travel to the UK with his family, reuniting his children with the King.
However, the trip was quickly thrown into uncertainty with regard to security and whether Harry would receive taxpayer-funded protection for his family during their stay.
The prince discovered last month that a crucial review by the Risk Management Board, part of the process through which Ravec determines his security requirements, had still not occurred, potentially leaving his family at risk.
Harry’s private security team warned the Government in a 40-page threat assessment that five out of six known terrorist plots targeting the duke have originated on British soil.
They added that a terrorist attack on the Duke of Sussex during the Invictus Games could result in mass casualties.
A spokesman for the prince stated last week: “Prince Harry’s programme in the United Kingdom includes both public and private engagements across the country.
“Safe accommodation is only one element of an effective protective security plan because risk follows the person, not the place.
“The issue has never been accommodation. The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit. 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. 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.”
One option that could still be explored is flying his family to Birmingham for the day. However, with Harry ruling out London, it adds a significant challenge to King Charles’s reconciliation with Archie and Lilibet.
Prince Harry’s programme will commence with an Invictus Games Foundation event at Chatham House before the duke makes a public appearance at the Royal Hospital Chelsea.
The Duchess of Sussex was due to accompany her husband to the hospital, but is confirmed to be no longer travelling to London.
