Prince Harry has arrived in the UK just hours after his invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace was “withdrawn at the last moment”.
The Duke of Sussex landed in London on Monday evening without his wife Meghan and his children Archie and Lilibet after they pulled out of a visit to the capital because of security concerns.
It comes as Harry is set to travel to Birmingham later in the week to attend an event marking the one year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.
It is understood the Duke first declined an offer for him and his family to stay at Buckingham Palace on Saturday, before later changing his mind and requesting to stay there himself.
But earlier on Monday, it was said that suitable hospitality and staff arrangements were no longer available.
It is also believed the Duke of Sussex’s long-running legal case against Associated Newspapers had made the situation more complicated and could affect the King’s constitutional position. Judgement in the case is expected on Tuesday.
It is said that while every effort was made to facilitate Harry’s stay, as a courtesy to staff and others involved, the Royal Household requires a minimum level of notice to ensure he could be hosted appropriately at a royal residence.
The confusion and accusations which look set to overshadow Harry’s trip to the UK will do little to help his often troubled relationship with his father.
Harry is hoping to reunite Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, with their grandfather the King for the first time in four years, though it is unclear whether this will happen.
Meghan, Archie and Lilibet may join Harry outside London, with reports he also wants to take them to Althorp in Northamptonshire, the resting place of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
It is not yet known if or when Harry will see the King during the visit, as the monarch has a busy schedule this week.
Harry is carrying out five days of engagements in London and Birmingham, including marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.
It comes as Harry and a group of other household names including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish are expected to find out on Tuesday whether they have won their High Court cases against the Daily Mail’s publisher over allegations of voicemail interception, landline tapping and obtaining information by deception, which Associated Newspapers denies.
During the 10-week trial, Harry and other celebrity claimants said that dozens of Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday stories about them had been published based on unlawfully obtained information.
A spokesperson for the duke said: “I am aware of multiple briefings from Buckingham Palace last week suggesting that the Duke had not accepted the offer of accommodation at a Royal Residence.
“Following RAVEC’s decision not to provide security for his family, the duke spent last week making alternative security arrangements.
“Once those arrangements were in place, he was able to formally accept the offer of accommodation for himself over the weekend.
“It is therefore disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn, with Tuesday’s judgment in the Associated Newspapers Limited case cited as the reason.
“Buckingham Palace has, however, been aware of that judgment since last Thursday. It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment.”
There were hopes the King will be able to reunite with his youngest grandchildren for the first time in four years.
Archie, seven, and Lili, five, last saw their grandfather in person during Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations in 2022.
Harry has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over the security arrangements for him and his family when in the UK after his level of protection changed when he stepped down as a working royal in 2020.
When the duke lost a Court of Appeal challenge against the Home Office last year, he gave a BBC interview in which he expressed hopes of a reconciliation with his family, revealing Charles would not speak to him because of his security court case.
Harry added: “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point and the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything you know.”
The duke, who stepped down from the working monarchy six years ago, has levelled a barrage of accusations at the King, his stepmother the Queen, brother the Prince of Wales and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography Spare since moving to California.
Charles carried on with his official duties on Monday, when he took a ride in a British Army Challenger tank in Bovington, Dorset.
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales visited the Evelina London Children’s Hospital to hear about its cancer care expansion plans.
