Prince Harry loses Buckingham Palace stay ahead of UK visit

The Duke of Sussex has been told he can no longer stay at Buckingham Palace, throwing his forthcoming visit into chaos.

The development came on Monday morning (local time), shortly after the Duke’s team revealed that he had accepted an offer to stay at the royal residence, and just hours before he was due to arrive in the UK.

Just minutes later, a palace source indicated that the invitation had been accepted too late.

Crucially, it is also feared that the High Court ruling on the Duke’s privacy claim against the publisher of the Daily Mail, due to be handed down on Tuesday, could “compromise” the King if his son is staying at a royal residence.

The court’s decision to publish the ruling, just as the Duke makes his first public appearance in the UK in 10 months, was made public last Thursday.

A palace source said on Monday that the timing had added “a further degree of complexity” to the specific dates requested.

The decision to rescind the Duke’s invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace was made in consultation with the King, it was understood.

The eleventh-hour developments have thrown the trip into chaos.

His spokesman said the withdrawal of the offer was “disappointing”, not least as the palace had been aware of the High Court’s schedule for several days.

On Saturday, it was confirmed that after days of handwringing, the Duchess of Sussex and their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, would not accompany the Duke to London after taxpayer-funded police protection was denied.

It remains unclear whether they will now travel at all.

The impending visit had already caused tensions with Buckingham Palace over multiple last-minute changes, briefings and counter briefings.

There has been mounting speculation about whether or not the Duke’s children will be reunited with their grandfather, the King, for the first time in four years.

The decision not to bring them to London was made on Saturday.

However, the Duke was desperate for the children to see his father and was understood to be liaising with the monarch directly about whether that might be possible.

The invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace was extended several weeks ago and the Duke fully intended to accept.

However, there was confusion about whether it included a guarantee of “safe passage” in and out of the palace, a critical detail which the Duke’s team had been led to believe was on the table.

While the Duke’s team let it be known that he would stay there, the palace insisted that no formal acceptance of the invitation had been received.

A few days later, the Duke was informed by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, that he would not receive any state-backed police protection during his visit.

Instead, the Home Office committee said he would be given a number for a police liaison officer to call if needed.

The decision prompted days of handwringing from the Duke, his plans in disarray.

The family’s plan to travel en masse to the UK for two weeks was abandoned as they sought to make alternative plans, which now remain in the air.

- Daily Telegraph UK

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