There are plans and there are contingency plans, and Harry’s July UK visit has now progressed from one to the other. Having spent four years arguing that his family cannot safely visit Britain without guaranteed police protection, having lost that argument in court twice, having negotiated a private arrangement through his cancer-stricken father, having filed a 30-day security application, having watched RAVEC pause its own review without explanation, having been told Friday that his application for a security package was denied, he is now per GB News reconsidering whether to bring Meghan and the children at all.
According to GB News, the planned five-day trip in early July, intended to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games in Birmingham, is now in question for the family unit. Meghan and the children may not come. The Duchess had been expected to attend public engagements including visits to Royal Hospital Chelsea and an Invictus event at the National Exhibition Centre. Those events involve movement outside royal grounds. RAVEC has declined to provide police protection outside royal grounds. Private security officers, per GB News, are “unable to remove individuals in some cases” due to restrictions on private security powers, which is the explanation for why private security cannot replace police protection and which Harry has been explaining in court for four years.
Sources close to the couple told GB News that the primary concern is “the potential impact on the children,” which is the same concern Harry has been articulating since 2020, and which RAVEC has consistently noted while declining to address.
The Government spokesman’s response to the situation, per GB News, was to defend the current arrangements, which is the government’s description of the arrangements that have produced a five-year security standoff, two court losses, a paused committee review, and a denied application.
Royal author Robert Jobson told Newsweek: “Every time Harry comes to town the briefings contradict each other.” He is correct. The King has cancer. He has met Lilibet once. The trip is in early July. The application was denied.
When the security denial arrives four days before the planned trip, and Meghan and the children may not come, and the King is waiting to find out, what exactly did four years of legal action resolve?
Sources
GB News: Prince Harry reconsiders UK trip with Meghan Markle and children after police protection blow
GB News: Prince Harry’s current security obstacles flow from the deal he chose in 2020
