A new report has claimed Prince Harry rejected King Charles’ invitation to stay at a royal residence during his return to the UK earlier this month.
According to The Telegraph, the Duke of Sussex turned down his father’s offer due to “security concerns”.
Instead, the 39-year-old chose to stay at a hotel where he “could come and go unseen”.
The newspaper has reported that the main reason Harry declined the invitation is because it did not come with any taxpayer-funded personal security provision.
Harry was reportedly concerned it would leave him in a “visible location with public entrance and exit points and no police protection”.
The outlet further claimed the Duke of Sussex “remains devastated” about his lack of police protection while in the UK.
The father-of-two is still fighting to overturn a ruling that saw his security status downgraded after he stepped down as a senior working member of the royal family.
The 39-year-old is challenging the decision by Ravec, the committee to which the Home Office delegates security decisions on royals and other public figures.
In February 2020, the Home Office – which is responsible for policing, immigration and security, decided that the Duke of Sussex would stop receiving personal police security while in the UK, even if he were to fund it himself.
Prince Harry now has to give the Metropolitan Police 28 days’ notice before coming to the UK if he wants to apply for security provision, with each request assessed on an individual basis by Ravec.
The Duke of Sussex returned to the UK earlier this month to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, which he founded.
Harry invited his father, King Charles, his brother, Prince William and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, to the Service of Thanksgiving commemorating a decade of the Invictus Games at St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 8th.
However, none of them were in attendance at the special event.
Instead, the 39-year-old was supported at the service by several members from Princess Diana’s side of the family — including his aunt Lady Jane Fellowes, his uncle Charles Spencer and his cousin Louis Spencer.
The Duke was seen warmly embracing his family at St Paul’s Cathedral – however, no other senior royals were present as the King hosted his first garden party of the season at Buckingham Palace.
Meanwhile, Prince William conducted investitures at Windsor Castle on the same day – including awarding an MBE to Claire van Straubenzee for the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund.
And as its widely known, Princess Kate is currently undergoing cancer treatment, which was discovered after she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
Earlier that week, Prince Harry confirmed that he would not be able to meet with his father King Charles during his visit to the UK due to the monarch’s “full” schedule.
A spokesperson for the Duke said: “In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not The Duke will meet with his father while in the U.K. this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full program.
“The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
Harry spent three nights in London without seeing any family members, before meeting his wife Meghan Markle at Heathrow airport to hop on a flight to Nigeria.
