Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming trip to the UK next week has been littered with problems and concerns – now, they could return without their children at all.
After announcing their intention as a family to make the transatlantic trip back to Harry’s homeland last month, security issues have continued to plague their plans.
What is for certain, according to The Mail, is that Harry will be coming, as will Meghan. The duchess will join her husband for the Invictus Games One Year To Go countdown in Birmingham.
“He is coming,” a friend of the duke confirmed to the outlet. “That is 100 per cent. He is honouring all of his commitments in the public eye, and Meghan is coming with him for sure as well.”
Those close to Harry say Meghan recognises the profound importance of both the occasion and the injured veterans’ charity to her husband, making her presence essential.
She is also expected to accompany him on a visit to a Birmingham children’s hospital during their stay.
However, the couple remain tight-lipped about whether Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, will make the trip at all. It is now being reported the children could remain in Montecito throughout the trip.
It had been suggested the duke could fly them out just for the day, to ensure they reunite with their estranged grandfather, King Charles.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming trip to the UK next week has been littered with problems and concerns – now, they could return without their children at all
|
INSTRAGRAM @MEGHANSources told the outlet that the duke is looking to find a way to bring the children over safely, but a solution is yet to be found, leaving their predicament in the air.
“Harry is really, really keen to bring the kids,” a source close to the prince revealed. “He wants to ground them in the UK, in their heritage and their family heritage. They need to see their grandfather and they need to understand more about where they come from.”
The source added that the young royals’ “lack of knowledge of the UK is becoming apparent, along with their lack of connection to it.”
King Charles has not seen his grandchildren in four years
|
PA
Both children are said to be tremendously excited about the prospect, having discussed the potential visit for months.
The source added: “Everything Harry does now is as a father.
“As a father, not as a prince, he wants his children to know his own father.”
Harry agreed “in a heartbeat” to keep any family encounters entirely private, with no social media posts, photographs, or briefings to the press.
However, the Home Office position has remained unchanged since the Sussexes departed for America in 2020: the couple no longer qualify for automatic taxpayer-funded protection, receiving instead security assessed on a case-by-case basis.
ITV revealed this week that Harry faces no fewer than six terrorist plots, five originating within Britain, according to a threat assessment prepared by his American private security firm in February.
The document, submitted to Ravec, detailed dozens of threats including an al-Qaeda assassination directive and plots from both jihadist and far-right actors.