Prince Harry will make a Prince Harry Buckingham Palace visit next week without Meghan, Archie and Lilibet, after the London part of the five-day trip was revised. The change leaves him travelling alone for the opening leg, with the family no longer included in the London plans.
Prince Harry is due to attend the Royal Hospital Chelsea on Wednesday, then move on to Birmingham on Thursday. If Meghan comes to the UK later in the week, she is scheduled to join him at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre.
Buckingham Palace and London plans
Prince Harry and Meghan had accepted an offer to stay in a royal residence with their two children, but that plan did not hold for the London visit. Meghan, Archie and Lilibet will not travel to London as originally planned, and the revised schedule leaves open only the later part of the trip as the point where they might join him.
King Charles has not seen Archie and Lilibet in person for four years, so the change also affects whether a family meeting happens during the trip. Under the revised plan, it is unclear whether such a meeting will take place.
Ravec security review
Sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the change came after Prince Harry's personal security team spent several days reviewing the arrangements. They also cited the lack of an up-to-date assessment from Ravec's Risk Management Board. The family would not be provided with taxpayer-funded police security.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' security." Prince Harry's dispute with the UK government over security stretches back to 2020, when he stepped back from his role as a senior royal and moved to the US with his family.
Birmingham later in the week
The trip moves from London to Birmingham on Thursday, and that later stop remains the part of the schedule where Meghan, Archie and Lilibet may still rejoin him. Prince Harry will visit Birmingham's children's hospital to support the work of WellChild, keeping the rest of the visit focused on the engagements already set out for the week.
For now, the practical change is simple: the London portion is a solo visit, and any family reunion would have to happen later, if it happens at all.
