Prince Harry set to arrive in UK amid security spat

Prince Harry was set to arrive in Britain on Monday for a five-day visit expected to go ahead mostly without his wife and children after they were reportedly refused police protection.

Harry's visit has been hit by several snags as plans for his family to accompany him fell through, his accommodation at Buckingham Palace was in disarray and a judgement in his latest legal battle against British tabloids loomed.

The visit, to mark the one-year countdown to next year's Invictus Games for wounded veterans, was meant to be Harry's first family trip back to the UK in four years.

But a source close to the Duke of Sussex told AFP at the weekend that Harry's wife Meghan, son Archie and daughter Lilibet would not accompany him on the London leg of the trip after the family was refused security.

Arrangements for the rest of the trip were still under consideration, the source said, leaving it unclear whether the whole family would visit but stay outside the capital.

Contradictory statements about plans to stay at Buckingham Palace while in London also added to the prince's headaches.

Just ahead of Harry's expected arrival on Monday, Buckingham Palace contradicted the Duke of Sussex's team to say that he would not be staying at the palace after missing a deadline to accept the accommodation offer.

Harry's spokesman said it was "disappointing" the offer to be hosted by his father King Charles III had been "withdrawn at the last moment", in a statement sent to AFP.

It was unclear whether the prince would meet his father during this week's trip. He is last understood to have met the king, who is being treated for an undisclosed form of cancer, at the monarch's London residence Clarence House in September 2025.

Harry and Meghan left Britain for North America in 2020 and stepped back from royal duties amid a bitter feud with the royals, which worsened as Harry published his tell-all memoir "Spare" and was embroiled in legal battles in the UK.

The prince has since said he wishes to reconcile with his father, but relations appeared frosty on the eve of the visit.

- Lawsuit ruling expected -

Harry's trip was also to coincide with the delivery of a judgement, expected Tuesday, in a case against Associated Newspapers, owner of the Daily Mail, over alleged unlawful information gathering.

The High Court trial earlier this year saw Harry give an emotional testimony as the prince, pop star Elton John, actor Elizabeth Hurley and other public figures accused the tabloid publisher of invading their privacy.

It was the third, and set to be final, case brought by the Duke of Sussex in his acrimonious legal battle with the British press, that has further strained relations with the royals.

The prince has also been involved in other legal spats, including over his police protection in the UK.

Last year, Harry said he felt unable to bring his family to the UK after losing a court case to have his security restored during UK visits.

"It's impossible for me to take my family back to the UK safely," he said then.

According to his spokesperson, Harry had to make "alternative security arrangements" for the trip after publicly-funded protection was refused, contributing to the delay in accepting Buckingham Palace's accommodation offer.

"It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment," the spokesman said.

Beyond logistical complications, the palace believed the legal judgement expected Tuesday had complicated matters as it could compromise the king's constitutional position, the PA news agency reported.

aks/jkb/rlp

© Agence France-Presse