Prince Harry won't bring family to London when he visits UK next week, Sky News understands

Prince Harry won't be accompanied by the Duchess of Sussex and their children when he visits London next week, Sky News understands.

It is not yet known whether they will join the duke on any visits outside the capital.

Prince Harry had intended to travel with Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet, to an event marking one year until the Invictus Games in Birmingham.

He's also due to visit some charities he supports.

It has been four years since the children last saw their grandfather in person and the King has offered to put the family up at an unnamed royal residence.

There have been concerns over how they would be protected in the UK, amid reports last weekend that a request for taxpayer-funded police protection had been denied.

At the time, a source said the duke could decide to leave his family at home.

"The hope is they can meet their grandfather," the source added. "But there is no way that can happen if they are chased by paparazzi wherever they go from the moment they step off the plane."

However, it emerged yesterday that the prince's security team was still looking at options to make the visit viable for the whole family.

The duke last year lost a legal battle with the government over his security in the UK after it was downgraded when he decided to stop being a working royal in 2020.

He is still waiting for Ravec, the committee that decides on protection for royalty and public figures, to review his case after making a personal appeal in December.

The reason for Harry not bringing his family to London is likely due to concerns from his security team and the lack of an up-to-date assessment by the Risk Management Board (RMB), whose work informs Ravec.

It was meant to have met in March and would have given a fuller picture of the potential threats faced by the duke and his family, but the meeting didn't go ahead.

Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, last saw the King at the late Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations in 2022. Sources stress the monarch is not involved in decisions about his son's security.

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When Harry lost his court appeal last year, he told the BBC: "I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point and the things that they're going to miss is, well, everything you know."

A government spokesperson said: "It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' security."

(c) Sky News 2026: Prince Harry won't bring family to London when he visits UK next week, Sky News understands