What a Royal Key on UK Return Could Really Mean for Harry and Meghan’s Feud With the Firm
Although the Palace has reportedly offered accommodation for the Sussexes, Harry and Meghan have yet to accept.
Prince Harry is heading back to the UK to kick off the official one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games — and this time, it’s a family affair. Latest reports reveal that Meghan Markle and their children will be joining him for the transatlantic trip. Founded by the Prince, the Invictus Games is an Olympic-style sporting tournament for veterans and service members. With the 2027 Games slated for Birmingham, Harry is flying in to officially kick off the countdown to the main event.
Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding the matter, the Sussex family may stay at a royal residence during their upcoming summer visit to Britain. Reports confirm that an accommodation offer has been extended to Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince Archie, and Princess Lilibet. Although it has not been accepted by them yet, it shows that the Palace may be willing to welcome the former working royals back into their fold.
However, reports suggesting that extra police protection has also been offered are not entirely true. While the family will automatically receive state security while inside the gates of a royal estate, that protection stops at the door. Once out and about for daily activities, the Sussexes will not have the same taxpayer-funded security detail as working royals, meaning any extra protection outside the residence must be managed and funded on their own.
As additional protection falls under the jurisdiction of the Home Office and not the royal family, they do not have the authority to grant the same access to the Sussexes, no matter how much the King might wish to do so. While the reports have fuelled hope about a reconciliation, there are other things to be considered, possibly why the offer has yet to be accepted by Harry and Meghan.
The biggest issue the Sussex clan might face if they stay at a royal residence is the onslaught of paparazzi and media personnel at their doorstep. Which means the anonymity they have managed to secure for the children so far, they will not be able to retain. Basically, the probability of Archie and Lilibet’s faces getting splashed all over the newspapers will run high. Instead, they might prefer to stay at Princess Diana's childhood home—the Althorp Estate—a place previously favored by Harry on his earlier trips to the UK.
Speaking on the matter, Bronte Coy, senior royal and entertainment reporter, told Newsweek, "Obviously, Harry's been invited previously to stay at Buckingham Palace. His concerns with it, even just when it was him, were that it's too high profile; they'll be spotted coming and going. He certainly isn't going to want to bring his kids into that as a first option because these kids haven't actually been photographed front on."
Royal watchers, on the other hand, will also be on the lookout for any possible reunion between the Sussexes and the rest of the firm, and while a potential meet with King Charles and even Queen Camilla might be on the cards, the same cannot be said for Prince William and the rest of the Waleses.
