Prince Harry's UK Visit Is Days Away. The British Government Just Denied His Family Security.

Caption: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle going to church at Sandringham on Christmas Day 2017. Credit: Mark Jones, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Prince Harry is due in the UK next week for a string of public engagements tied to the Invictus Games. Whether his wife and children come with him is now in question, after Britain’s security committee denied a request for police protection just days before his arrival.

What You Should Know

According to The Sun, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee - the UK government body that decides which public figures receive taxpayer-funded protective security - turned down a renewed request for protection for Harry and his family roughly a week before his scheduled arrival. A source close to the Sussexes told ABC News that the Risk Management Board RAVEC itself said was necessary last November ‘has still not taken place,’ adding it is ‘difficult to understand how the proportionality of the current arrangements can credibly be maintained without that independent assessment.’

A source confirmed to NBC News’s TODAY that Harry will travel with Meghan, 7-year-old Prince Archie, and 5-year-old Princess Lilibet from July 7 to July 11 to mark one year until the Invictus Games in Birmingham. King Charles offered the family accommodation at a royal residence with police protection for the visit - an offer a Sussex spokesperson said misses the point, since accommodation has ‘never been’ the issue.

The Public Image Problem

Harry lost a High Court appeal in May 2025 challenging the original 2020 decision to reduce his publicly funded security after he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties. He told the BBC at the time he would ‘struggle to forgive’ the decision and could not safely bring his family to Britain without it. The current visit would be the first publicly known UK trip for Archie and Lilibet since the 2022 Platinum Jubilee - and the first time King Charles would see his grandchildren since then.

The Sun reported the arrival of Meghan and the children is now being ‘reassessed’ following RAVEC’s latest decision, even as sources told both ABC News and NBC News the family intended to travel together. A government spokesperson told NBC News it is ‘long-standing policy not to provide detailed information’ on royal security arrangements.

The Receipts

ABC News and The Sun (via The News International) both confirmed the RAVEC denial and the unresolved Risk Management Board review. NBC News’s TODAY confirmed the planned July 7-11 itinerary through a direct source. Harry’s 2025 court loss and BBC comments are part of the public record.

What Happens Next

With the visit roughly a week away as of this writing, whether Meghan and the children ultimately travel depends on a security decision that remains unresolved. Buckingham Palace has not said whether King Charles and Harry will meet during the visit.

References: ABC News | The News International | TODAY