Despite his disagreement with the government over security, insiders told Page Six that Prince Harry could still fly to the UK for Prince Philip’s memorial.
The Duke of Sussex’s attendance at his beloved grandfather’s memorial service has been in doubt as he continues to fight the UK government over his request for security measures to be put in place for him and his family while in his motherland.
However, sources told us that state security will be present during next month’s celebration, which will be attended by Harry’s grandmother, the Queen, his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, as well as other members of the royal family.
Because history reveals that Harry would be protected on such circumstances, sources claim that there is still a chance.
“The memorial ceremony has no bearing on what Harry is pushing for,” one royal watcher observed.
The chances of Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Archie, 2, and Lilibet, 8 months, attending the wedding on March 29 at Westminster Abbey are thought to be slim. Since leaving their senior royal jobs in March 2020, Markle has not returned to the United Kingdom.
The Queen has yet to meet Lilibet, also known as Lili, who is now battling COVID. Indeed, Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, who went out to California earlier this month to see the baby girl, is the only member of the family to have met her thus far.
Harry’s legal team stated last week that he wants to see his friends and family again.
On Friday, Harry’s lawyer told the High Court in London that he wants to bring his family from the United States to visit him, but that they are “unable to return to his home” because it is “too unsafe.”
“This claim is about the claimant not feeling safe when he is in the UK given the security arrangements that were applied to him in June 2021 and will continue to be applied to him if he returns,” said Barrister Shaheed Fatima QC, according to numerous sources.
“And, of course, it should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart. Most of all, this is, and always will be, his home.”
The Home Office, the UK’s principal government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counter-terrorism, and police, did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Due to Harry’s “special position,” the Home Office intends to argue that personal protective security for the prince is still evaluated on a “case-by-case basis.” The selection could be influenced by the royal’s reasons for visiting Britain and the events he would perform while there.
It also claims that Harry has “failed to appreciate the role of the Home Office and the Royal and VIP executive committee (RAVEC), a task force of civil servants and Scotland Yard officers, ‘as the expert, and democratically accountable, decision-maker’ on matters of protective security,” according to the report.