Buckingham Palace has rejected claims that Prince Harry will stay at the royal residence during his latest visit to the UK, despite the Duke of Sussex’s representatives saying he had accepted an offer of accommodation.
Harry has arrived in Britain to attend an event marking one year until the next Invictus Games, which will take place in Birmingham.
A spokesperson for the Duke as reported by Sky News said on Monday morning that Harry had accepted an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace.
However, the Palace later said he would not be staying there, explaining that he had missed the deadline to confirm the arrangement.
A spokesperson for Harry said the accommodation offer had “now been withdrawn” and linked the decision to Tuesday’s expected judgment in his legal case against Associated Newspapers.
The representative questioned the timing of the decision, saying Buckingham Palace had known about the upcoming court ruling since last Thursday.
“It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment,” the spokesperson said.
Harry is visiting the UK alone after it was confirmed that his wife, Meghan, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, would not accompany him to London because of security concerns.
The Duke had previously planned to travel with his family. The visit would have marked the first time his children saw their grandfather, King Charles, in person since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The King had offered to accommodate Harry and his family at an undisclosed royal residence. However, reports in late June suggested that Harry’s request for taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK had been rejected.
Sources have stressed that the King does not play a role in decisions regarding his son’s security arrangements.
Harry lost a legal challenge against the UK government last year after his security arrangements were reduced in 2020 following his decision to step back as a working member of the Royal Family.
The Duke had been awaiting a review by RAVEC, the committee responsible for decisions on security protection for senior royals and public figures, after he personally appealed the decision in December.
His spokesperson said Harry spent last week making alternative security arrangements after RAVEC decided not to provide protection for his family.
“Following RAVEC’s decision not to provide security for his family, the duke spent last week making alternative security arrangements,” the spokesperson said.
“Once those arrangements were in place, he was able to formally accept the offer of accommodation for himself over the weekend.”
“It is therefore disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn, with Tuesday’s judgment in the Associated Newspapers Limited case cited as the reason.”
The decision to withdraw the offer was reportedly taken after discussions with the King, with officials communicating the outcome to Harry through the appropriate channels.
It is understood that accommodation at a royal residence will remain available to Harry and his family during future visits.
The latest dispute over Harry’s accommodation comes shortly after the Royal Family released details showing that renovations at Buckingham Palace cost £370 million. The documents also revealed that the King would not live at the palace.
Officials said the decision for the monarch to remain at Clarence House was partly aimed at allowing greater public access to Buckingham Palace. They explained that security restrictions would limit visitor access if the King lived there.
