Prince Harry May Cancel Family UK Trip After Police Protection Request Denied

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is weighing whether to proceed with a planned family visit to the United Kingdom after his formal request for police protection was turned down by British authorities, the BBC has reported. The trip, which would have marked the first time Harry, his wife Meghan, and their two children — Archie and Lilibet — had visited the UK together in four years, is now in serious doubt.

Harry's team had submitted a formal request for security cover to the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), the body responsible for advising the Home Office on protective arrangements for senior royals. On Friday, just days before the family was due to arrive, the team was informed that no taxpayer-funded police protection would be granted. Sources close to the Duke describe him as deeply distressed by the last-minute decision, though he is said to be exploring whether the trip can still go ahead in some form.

A government spokesman defended the decision, saying the UK's protective security system was "rigorous and proportionate" and that it was long-standing policy not to disclose details of individual security arrangements. Harry lost a legal challenge last year in which he sought to have routine police protection reinstated whenever he visits Britain, having stepped back from his role as a senior working royal in 2020.

The visit had been planned to coincide with the launch of the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games, the sporting event for wounded and injured military personnel that Harry founded. The Games are scheduled to be held in Birmingham in July 2026. Meghan had been expected to join her husband at several public engagements in London and the Midlands, and the couple had reportedly accepted an invitation to stay on a royal estate as guests of King Charles — though Buckingham Palace sources say they received no confirmation that the offer was taken up.

Harry had previously expressed concern about the safety of bringing his family back to the UK without guaranteed official protection, telling the BBC after last year's legal ruling: "I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point." King Charles last saw his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet in person during Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Harry himself last met his father in September, when the two had tea at Clarence House. A final decision on the trip is expected within the coming days.