Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly want an invite to return to the UK to see the King this summer, but their intentions for wanting a reunion are not clear
The Prince and Princess of Wales have no intention of seeing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex if they return to the UK this summer, royal sources have said. Prince Harry hopes to be invited by the King to spend some “family time”, with his wife and two young children, in Norfolk this summer, according to reports.
The Duchess of Sussex has not visited Britain since September 2022, when the couple attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, and Archie and Lilibet have not been to the UK since the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June that year. Sources close to Harry said he would welcome an invitation to Sandringham, the King’s estate in Norfolk, where the Prince and Princess of Wales also have their country home, Anmer Hall.
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But sources close to the Prince and Princess of Wales have revealed their personal stance on the Sussexes “has not changed”. The source added: “If the King was to invite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to stay with him, that is a matter for His Majesty alone.
“The Prince and Princess of Wales’s position has not changed and they would not make arrangements to see them outside of them potentially attending an official public engagement.”
A friend of Harry’s told the Sunday Times said: “If he was invited by the King, he would get a package of security that automatically kicks in. He’d like an invite to Sandringham. Would he go? It would depend who was there. If the King was to say, ‘Come up and spend some time with the family’, he’d love that.”
After their meeting in September, a source close to Harry said: “He always loves seeing his father and would love to see him as much as possible.”
Harry and Meghan travel to Australia next month for a quasi-royal tour where they will undertake commercial and charity appearances in both Sydney and Melbourne. One of the major outings for Meghan will be at a women-only event. She will be interviewed on stage at the 2,699 Australian dollars (£1,440) per person event, where attendees can also pay extra to be in a group photo with the Duchess.
While Australians await their arrival, a petition has been started with almost 40,000 signatures, demanding that no taxpayer money is used for security while they are in the country or to facilitate the trip. However, a spokesperson for the Sussexes has described the petition as a “moot point” aying the trip is being privately funded.
The Sussexes’ popularity has nosedived in recent years, with a recent poll by YouGov in the UK suggesting Meghan Markle is now liked by just 19 percent of British people and disliked by 66 per cent. The data, based on a representative sample of 2,103 U.K. adults, showed a net approval rating of minus 47.
The Prince of Wales has been largely estranged from his brother since Harry and Meghan decided to quit their royal roles in 2020. The Sussexes first moved to Canada before setting up home in California as Covid restrictions locked down countries around the world.
Harry is set to return to the UK for about a week in July for engagements marking one year until the Invictus Games are held in Birmingham. He will also attend an event to support the WellChild charity of which he is patron.
Over the past few years a sticking point for Harry, 41, returning to the UK, aside from attending various legal hearings and a couple of charity events, has been his demands for taxpayer funded security.
Harry and Meghan were stripped of their access to publicly funded security by the Home Office after leaving their royal roles in favour of earning millions of pounds from corporate deals.
The Duke has since lost an appeal but recently written to the Home Secretary to plead for a review. He has said he does not feel it is safe to bring his family unless he is given armed police protection. Harry and Meghan’s children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, last saw their grandfather, the King, four years ago.
Harry and Charles, 77, who is still being treated for cancer, last saw each other on September 10 last year, for a 50-minute meeting over tea at Clarence House while the prince was in the UK for engagements connected with his patronages. It was their first meeting in 19 months.
After losing his case against the Home Office in the Court of Appeal in May last year, Harry said in an interview with the BBC : “I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff u0085 Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things. But I would love reconciliation with my family.”
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