King Charles may never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet again after Prince Harry refused to take his family to the UK, sources fear.
The Duke of Sussex announced last week that he will not travel to Britain with his wife Meghan due to security concerns, including a knife or acid attack by a “lone actor”.
Royal experts told The Mail on Sunday the statement meant the king would become “increasingly distant” from the children, in what is an “extremely sad situation”.
King Charles last saw Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, in June 2022, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Prince Harry, 39, has since returned to the UK several times without his wife and children as he continues his legal battle with the British government over the loss of his taxpayer-funded security.
Sources fear the King will never see his grandchildren Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet again, as Harry has cited security concerns as a reason for not bringing his family to the UK.
The Duke of Sussex said he would not travel to the UK with his wife over fears of a knife or acid attack by a ‘lone actor’
Prince Harry confirmed in an interview with ITV that he would travel alone in the future
The rift between the Sussexes and the King is in danger of becoming a rift, sources warn
As part of his ongoing campaign against British journalism, he suggested that an attacker might be inspired by something he read in a tabloid.
In an interview with ITV, the Duke of Sussex appeared to confirm that he would travel alone in the future: “All it takes is one actor who reads this and acts on what he has read. And whether it is a knife or acid, these are things that genuinely concern me. It is one of the reasons why I will not be taking my wife back to this country.”
When asked whether the recent cancer diagnoses of both his father and sister-in-law, the Princess of Wales, had made him reconsider his legal battle against the press, the prince replied succinctly that they were “two completely different things.”
Harry claimed that his battle with the press was “a central part” of the rift in his relationship with his family. He said: “For me the mission continues, but it has caused… part of the rift.”
But when it comes to King Charles and the children of Sussex, that divide threatens to become an abyss.
“It would be wonderful if the King could soon visit his grandchildren, whom he has seen so little of, but he is 75 and still not in the best of health,” said Joe Little, editor of Majesty magazine.
‘A visit to America is unlikely to be a high priority now, given the other demands on his time.
“It is an incredibly sad situation that few people could have predicted five years ago.”
Royal author Margaret Holder added: ‘It is very difficult for the monarch to travel as a private individual. There would have to be all sorts of diplomacy involved to get the king to California to see the children.
‘So if the children can’t come here and the king can’t come there, then you’re dealing with a grandfather who is undergoing cancer treatment and is getting further and further away from home.’
Prince Harry and Meghan with Archie in May 2019, when a newborn son
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with Archie meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa in September 2019
Behind the palace walls, there is frustration at suggestions that King Charles could “resolve” the rift by returning police protection to Prince Harry, but that power lies with RAVEC, the committee responsible for royal security.
Behind the palace walls, there is frustration at suggestions that King Charles could “fix” the rift by returning Prince Harry’s police protection. But that power lies solely with RAVEC, the Home Office committee that oversees royal security.
For a prince living in a country where a former president recently survived an assassination attempt, eyebrows have also been raised about the depth of the duke’s concerns about security in the UK.
“You have to ask yourself: is the UK less dangerous than the US, where gun violence is so widespread?” Mr Little said.
In February, Prince Harry lost his High Court case to overturn a ruling that there was no unlawfulness in the decision to reduce his police protection because he was not working as a non-working royal.
He plans to appeal, but most people expect him to travel to Britain alone for the Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027.
Harry had reportedly expressed interest in renting Apartments One and Seven at Kensington Palace during visits to the UK, which are protected by police and are currently undergoing renovation. However, the MoS understands that the apartments would not be allocated for his use.
“It’s all a mess,” Holder said. “I would add that it is Prince Harry who has increased the risk to himself, his wife and his family by boasting in his book about killing 25 Taliban fighters.
‘King Charles is thus forced to be a distant grandfather whom the grandchildren never see.’
