Over the weekend, The Times’ Roya Nikkhah had a big exclusive about Prince Harry’s planned trip to the UK in July. We don’t know much about Harry’s trip because I think most of the plans are still up in the air, given the still unsettled issues of security. Nikkhah claimed to have sources close to Harry who suggested that Harry absolutely wants to bring Meghan and their children to the UK in July, and he also would like King Charles to invite the Sussex family to stay in Sandringham for a nice visit. Sources also said that if Charles extends an invitation to the family, that would likely mean that the security issues could be bypassed, because Charles would arguably order royal protection for the Sussexes. The palace is furious about all of this, and their minions have been screaming about “emotional blackmail” ever since. Ah, yes, the emotional blackmail of a son pointing out that his dogsh-t father refuses to see or protect his grandchildren. Well, the Mail’s Becky English was furious that Nikkhah got the exclusive, so English wrote up her own exclusive about this:
Friends of Prince Harry yesterday claimed that he wants the King to invite his family to stay in Norfolk this summer so he can see his grandchildren. They say the Duke of Sussex wants to repair the family rift by spending time with his father on his private Sandringham estate this July.
But sources close to the monarch told the Daily Mail last night that ‘low trust and bitter experience’ over a string of leaks and media briefings from ‘Team Sussex’ in recent years were a significant difficulty in making any progress in restoring family harmony.
A friend of the King said: ‘If Harry truly wishes to see his father, he would do well to encourage his supporters to allow such matters to be discussed privately, since low trust and bitter experience in this regard remains one of the principal barriers to progress.’
Harry, 41, has seen his father only twice in two years following his acrimonious departure from the UK, amid a string of attacks on his family, including tell-all interviews and his memoir, Spare. However Harry apparently hopes he, Meghan and their children will be invited to spend ‘some family time’ at Sandringham in July, when he is set to return to the UK. It is nearly four years since Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, six and four, saw their grandfather, when they travelled to Britain from their home in California for the last Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Meghan last visited later in 2022, when the late Queen died.
Now the Sunday Times reports ‘those close to Harry’ say he ‘would welcome an invitation to Sandringham’ this summer when he flies to Britain to attend events connected with his Invictus Games.
Notably the Prince and Princess of Wales – from whom he remains firmly estranged – also spend much of their holidays at Sandringham, where they have a country home, Anmer Hall.
Those with knowledge of the situation have questioned the clearly well-sourced quotes from ‘Team Sussex’ issued at the weekend given that the security review is currently under way. Sources close to the King have also long made clear that he will not intervene in the internal debate over his son’s security because it would be constitutionally inappropriate.
A source familiar with the Ravec process commented: ‘As part of the review being undertaken, the Government is consulting a wide range of stakeholders, including the duke, and will reach a fair and appropriate decision on that basis.’
It’s always funny when palace courtiers huff and puff about “how dare Team Sussex sources brief to the media”… while those courtiers are briefing the media as unnamed “sources close to the monarch.” Besides which, this is completely false: “a string of leaks and media briefings from ‘Team Sussex’ in recent years were a significant difficulty in making any progress in restoring family harmony.” It was only when Harry exerted public pressure – especially by giving a big BBC interview last year – that Charles agreed to see Harry. Harry has learned that he needs to air some sh-t out publicly to get his father to do anything. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that the Times story really did come from Team Sussex. What Harry is doing is letting Buckingham Palace know that he’s not going to deal with the issues around his upcoming trip quietly. He’s not just going to slink off if he doesn’t get security. He’s going to continue to pressure the palace and make Charles look like a horrible father and horrible grandfather.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red.
