Prince William and Princess Kate Reportedly Have No Plans to Meet Harry and Meghan During UK Visit

The Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly not planning to meet with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex if they return to the UK this summer, according to royal sources.

Prince Harry is said to be hoping for an invitation from the King to spend some “family time” in Norfolk this summer with his wife and their two young children.

The Duchess of Sussex has not been back to Britain since September 2022, when she and Harry attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. Meanwhile, Archie and Lilibet have not visited the UK since the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June that same year.

Sources close to Harry suggest he would welcome an invitation to Sandringham, the King’s estate in Norfolk, where the Prince and Princess of Wales also have their country residence, Anmer Hall.

Sources close to the Prince and Princess of Wales have indicated that their stance toward the Sussexes “has not changed.”

The source added: “If the King was to invite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to stay with him, that is a matter for His Majesty alone.”

“The Prince and Princess of Wales’s position has not changed and they would not make arrangements to see them outside of them potentially attending an official public engagement.”

A friend of Harry’s told the Sunday Times: “If he was invited by the King, he would get a package of security that automatically kicks in. He’d like an invite to Sandringham. Would he go? It would depend who was there. If the King was to say, ‘Come up and spend some time with the family’, he’d love that.”

After their meeting in September, a source close to Harry said: “He always loves seeing his father and would love to see him as much as possible.”

Harry and Meghan are set to travel to Australia next month for a quasi-royal tour, where they will take part in a mix of commercial and charity engagements in both Sydney and Melbourne.

One of Meghan’s key appearances will be at a women-only event, where she is scheduled to be interviewed on stage. Tickets for the event are priced at 2,699 Australian dollars (£1,440) per person, with attendees also given the option to pay extra for a group photo with the Duchess.

As Australians prepare for their arrival, a petition has gathered nearly 40,000 signatures calling for no taxpayer money to be used for their security or to support the visit. A spokesperson for the Sussexes dismissed the concerns as a “moot point,” stating that the trip is being privately funded.

The couple’s popularity has declined in recent years. A recent YouGov poll in the UK suggested that Meghan Markle is liked by just 19 percent of the public, while 66 percent view her unfavourably — resulting in a net approval rating of minus 47. The figures were based on a representative sample of 2,103 UK adults.

Prince William has remained largely estranged from his brother since Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal duties in 2020. The Sussexes initially relocated to Canada before eventually settling in California during the Covid pandemic.

Harry is expected to return to the UK for about a week in July for engagements marking one year until the Invictus Games are held in Birmingham. He is also due to attend an event in support of the WellChild charity, where he serves as patron.

In recent years, one of the main obstacles preventing Harry, 41, from returning to the UK — aside from attending legal hearings and occasional charity events — has been his request for taxpayer-funded security.

Harry and Meghan lost access to publicly funded protection after stepping back from their royal roles and pursuing commercial ventures worth millions. The Home Office made the decision at the time, and the Duke later lost an appeal against it, though he has recently written to the Home Secretary requesting a review.

He has stated that he does not feel it is safe to bring his family to the UK without armed police protection. His children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, have not seen their grandfather, the King, for four years.

Harry and Charles, 77 — who is currently undergoing cancer treatment — last met on September 10 last year during a 50-minute meeting over tea at Clarence House, while Harry was in the UK for engagements linked to his patronages. It was their first meeting in 19 months.

After losing his case against the Home Office in the Court of Appeal in May last year, Harry said in an interview with the BBC: “I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff … Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things. But I would love reconciliation with my family.”

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