Sky News was brought to a temporary stop to deliver an update on Meghan Markle’s travel plans to the UK next week. Prince Harry is scheduled to visit to the UK for his one-year countdown event for Invictus Games 2027, and it is rumoured that the Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will also be returning to the UK.
But it has now been confirmed that Harry won’t be accompanied by Meghan and their children. The Sky News presenter announced on Saturday afternoon: “Sky News understands the Duchess of Sussex and her children will not be travelling to London with Prince Harry this coming week. No decision has been made on whether Meghan, Archie and Lilibet will meet up with the Duke of Sussex early elsewhere in the UK during the visit.”
“It’s been four years since the children last saw their grandfather, the King, in person. This week, a spokesperson for Prince Harry said the Duke was continuing to explore options to enable the family to travel safely after his request for police protection was reportedly denied,” she added.
It is unclear whether a meeting between King Charles and his grandchildren will take place under the revised schedule. Home News correspondent Mollie Malone added on air: “So I say there’s a caveat [around Prince Harry’s visit] because it’s not clear, for example, whether they could join him outside of London, whether they could perhaps stay in a royal residence outside of London.
“It’s not clear whether they could be on part of the trip, just not perhaps in the London part, but it’s significant, I think, for a couple of reasons. On a family level, his two grandchildren haven’t seen their grandfather, the king, in over four years, and there’s been lots of speculation about when that would happen. Would this trip be the moment for that to happen? And then two, of course, there’s been this ongoing row over Prince Harry’s security more broadly.”
It had been thought that London was the location for the potential family reunion after Harry and Meghan accepted an offer to stay in a royal residence. The change means Meghan will not join her husband for a visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea on Wednesday for meetings related to the Invictus Games.