Although Prince Harry and Meghan's Coronation decision is still unclear, the clocks are ticking down to King Charles's big day. However, the wait may soon be over as legal documents show why we're likely to know within the next two weeks.
- Prince Harry and Meghan's Coronation decision has been up in the air since they confirmed receiving an invite.
- According to court documents, the Prince was informed of a stipulation regarding when he and his family visit the UK - regarding security concerns.
- In other royal news, The big event Prince George, Charlotte and Louis could attend before the coronation as a ‘very clever way’ to prepare them.
It's previously been reported that Prince Harry and Meghan are negotiating the terms of their coronation attendance and according to court documents - there's a lot more to it than where they'll rest their heads.
It all boils down to information revealed during Prince Harry’s ongoing libel claim against the Mail on Sunday's publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). The Prince's case against the publishers is regarding an article reporting on his claim against the Home Office’s Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC).
Documents reveal that Prince Harry was informed that he has to give 28 days' notice of any trips to the UK, so the Home Office could assess his requests.
The Prince was told that it would then be down to the Home Office to decide if said security was in fact necessary - now he's no longer a working royal. This means that the decision on whether to attend King Charles III's coronation on May 6, or not, will need to be made pretty soon.
According to lawyers for Prince Harry, the uncertainty offered by this request period - which might not even be granted - means that organizing visits to the UK may be unsafe.
Addressing the notice period, per the Telegraph, his lawyers said, “it hinders their ability to plan for and manage his security arrangements; may lead to [the Duke’s] actual arrangements being inadequate and compromise his ultimate security.”
His lawyers add that the Prince is, “gravely concerned about his safety and security during future trips to the UK," which is why he felt he had no choice but to take legal action against RAVEC.
Some critics of the Sussexes may argue that they don't need such high-level security, but the former assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Neil Basu confirmed to Channel 4 that they do.
The Guardian reports that after being asked if threats against Meghan and Harry were credible he said, “Absolutely, and if you’d seen the stuff that was written and you were receiving it… the kind of rhetoric that’s online, if you don’t know what I know, you would feel under threat all of the time.”
“We had teams investigating it," he added. "People have been prosecuted for those threats.”
The question as to where will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stay if they attend the King's coronation remains to be seen. Following the confirmation of Harry and Meghan's Frogmore Cottage departure, they no longer have a UK base - which also complicates security concerns.