Tensions between Prince Harry and his father, King Charles III, have been exposed again after an awkward standoff over residency at Buckingham Palace.
Harry, Duke of Sussex, is due to travel to Britain this week and is considering bringing his wife Meghan and two children with him for the first time in four years.
Prince Harry, who has been living in California since January 2020, has long been concerned about the safety of his stay in Britain.
Because he is no longer a working member of the royal family, he is not entitled to taxpayer-funded police protection. His request to be provided during this visit was denied.
However, it is understood that the King offered the Duke of Sussex and his family accommodation at Buckingham Palace while they were in London, which would at least provide them with a safe base for the trip.
Buckingham Palace’s version claims that despite repeated requests for clarity, no official response to the proposal had been received by last Friday’s deadline.
The palace says the duke and his team have repeatedly made it clear that accommodation at Buckingham Palace is unsuitable and formally rejected the king’s offer on Saturday.
However, later on Saturday the palace claimed it had received a belated request from the Duke to stay, although adequate accommodation and hospitality facilities were no longer available.
A spokesman for Prince Harry gave the BBC a different version of events and said the king’s son was under the impression that he had accepted an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace, but the offer was withdrawn, which they called “disappointing”.
“It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the offer of accommodation, it was withdrawn at the last minute,” a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex told the BBC.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, visited Bondi Beach during their visit earlier this year. (Poole: Jonathan Brady via Reuters)
The spat further highlighted the strained relationship between King Charles III and his youngest son over the past few years.
In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they would step back from their duties as working members of the royal family and move to the United States.
The following year, the couple gave an interview to Oprah Winfrey in which they criticized the royal family and have since spoken out about racism and bias against the institution.
Prince Harry’s 2023 autobiography, which contains allegations of a physical altercation with his brother in 2019, is believed to have burned several bridges.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has not visited the UK with her husband since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.
It is understood the Duke and his brother Prince William have not spoken since. Last year, Prince Harry and the King held a short meeting at Clarence House that lasted less than an hour. There are conflicting accounts of how this happened.
“At the moment I don’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK,” he told the BBC in May 2025.
The Duke of Sussex is due to travel to the UK to take part in charity events and events marking the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027.
The Games are an international multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s children Archie, seven, and Lilibeth, five, are rarely seen in public, prompting speculation that their arrival in the UK could spark a media frenzy.
While it has been confirmed that the Duchess and the couple’s children will not be traveling to London, it remains unclear whether they will take part in other aspects of the trip outside the UK capital or remain in the US.
Over the last decade, Buckingham Palace has undergone a major multi-billion pound upgrade which is due to be completed next year.
Prince Harry’s expected trip to the UK comes the same week that London’s High Court is due to hand down a verdict in a case in which he is involved.
The Duke and a number of other plaintiffs sued the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, claiming that numerous articles published about them over more than two decades were based on information obtained illegally.