Starting on Friday, there was a truly chaotic 48-hour period where no one knew what was happening with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s UK visit. On Friday, the Sussexes’ office confirmed the trip and detailed the scheduled work-appearances which will be made by Prince Harry and Meghan. Incidentally, I saw some Sussex Squaders question the Friday confirmation – make no mistake, it came from Harry and Meghan’s office. In fact, I think that confirmation was basically the only thing that really came from the Sussexes’ office all weekend. On Saturday, there were suddenly all of these breaking-news reports about RAVEC denying the Sussexes security and Prince Harry having second thoughts about bringing Meghan and the children to the UK. Who does that sound like? Not Harry. Who does that serve? Not Harry. Now Becky English has a bizarre piece in the Mail about Harry’s “psychodrama.” I’ve never been more convinced that a certain bald demon is doing everything he can to disrupt the Sussexes’ visit.
On Friday night they were definitely coming. All of them. By Saturday, maybe not. Yesterday, even those in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s camp were being told different stories, and the Royal Household hadn’t a clue what was going on. It has long been made known by Sussex sources that Harry would come to the UK in July for the countdown to his Invictus Games 2027 in Birmingham.
A few months ago, Team Sussex briefed that Meghan, 44, would join him, followed by another leak to the media this month that their children would come – making it the first time the family will have set foot here for four years. If some are to be believed, it is set to herald a dramatic rapprochement between father and son, with Charles, 77, having seen his grandchildren growing up fast on the other side of the Atlantic.
It is not entirely clear, however, that that is how the other side will see it. For Buckingham Palace’s patience with the Sussexes and the constant psychodrama that surrounds them is surely being pushed, once again, to its limits by a PR disaster of the couple’s own making.
As one familiar with the situation says: ‘For the sake of family harmony the Palace would have been perfectly happy with a peaceful and low-key visit. Yet, once again, they have turned it into a soap opera. It’s tiresome.’
As for the Palace, I am told its offer of the use of a royal residence for the Sussexes has not even been accepted – with mere days to go before their arrival. While it is impossible to reverse the hurt of the past, Charles is pragmatic and is not going to reject an overture to meet his grandchildren discreetly for the sake of family harmony. But recent events are making it increasingly hard even to do that.
It was hinted at the time by the Sussexes’ side that something ‘significant’ had changed with regard to arrangements for his security for this to be possible. One source suggested the King might have stepped in – a claim that was immediately knocked down by royal insiders. All of this puzzled seasoned royal watchers.
Few have forgotten Harry’s fury last year at losing his court battle with the Home Office over the decision by the Ravec security committee in 2020 to strip him of his 24-hour police guard when he quit the UK for North America. He labelled it an ‘Establishment stitch-up’ and said he could not envisage ever feeling safe bringing his family back to Britain. After losing his case, Harry, 41, appealed to the Home Secretary to ask Ravec to reassess his case. His team briefed early this year that a decision was imminent and he was confident of success, but until Saturday there was a deafening silence on the issue.
Nevertheless, little more than a week out from their arrival, his PR machine swung into overdrive on Friday night, confirming to chosen media that the entire family were coming to the UK. It all seemed to be a done deal. Less than 24 hours later, however, there was yet another Sussex pronouncement – that Harry was considering leaving his wife and children in California after he discovered that Ravec had kicked the decision into the long grass. Yesterday, ITV quoted ‘senior staff’ in the Sussexes’ office on multiple threats to Harry and the online abuse Meghan faces. There was also an attack on how ‘celebrities like Taylor Swift’ receive ‘state-funded security’.
…The upshot? No one is any the wiser and the Palace team is frantically scratching their heads. Those in royal circles believe the debacle has turned what could have been positive PR for the Sussexes into a disaster before they even set foot in the country.
Again, I think this is Prince William and the anti-Harry/Sussex faction throwing everything at the wall. Please remember what these people did before and during the Sussexes’ Australian trip too – the name of the game for this faction is disruption, endangerment and chaos. And it’s really rich for a rota reporter from the MAIL to suddenly get huffy about “psychodrama” as well, especially given… everything!! Everything about the past decade, everything they’ve done to harm the Sussexes, everything they’ve done to put this family in danger. The expectation is that people are supposed to believe that Harry is sitting around, calling up British journalists and briefing them on his ever-changing plans? Come on.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
