It was about 9am when the news broke that a significant rapprochement had finally been reached: Prince Harry, once referred to as the royal family’s “wayward son”, had accepted an invitation to stay with his relatives at Buckingham Palace during his visit to the UK this week.
After years of bad blood, marked by allegations that brother had briefed the press against brother, it appeared to mark the beginning of a new era of relative peace among the royals.
The illusion lasted only about 15 minutes. The bombshell that shattered it was the announcement that the palace had, regardless of what the Duke of Sussex’s spokesperson said, told him he would not be welcome there after all.
The decision to withdraw the invitation was said to have been taken in consultation with the king, who is understood to have spoken privately to his son, with the outcome later communicated through the appropriate channels.
The duke, who arrived in the UK on Monday, had been hoping to stay at his father’s official residence for one night this week while he visits London. He is also going to Birmingham as he takes on a series of charity engagements including promoting the Invictus Games. The buildup to the trip has been overshadowed by a dispute with the government over security, and a spokesperson for the duke saying on Sunday that the Duchess of Sussex and the couple’s children would not join him in the capital, but could do later when he visited the West Midlands.
PA Media said it was understood the duke and his family had initially been offered accommodation at the palace, but he had turned it down on Saturday. It is understood that the view from the palace side is that he made a U-turn later that day, and asked if he could stay there alone for the single night. Harry’s team have said a protracted set of security arrangements needed to be handled – accounting for the delay in accepting.
By then, though, palace officials are said to have believed it was too late to sort out staffing. While the palace claimed every effort had been made to facilitate the duke’s stay, their position was that common courtesy required a minimum level of notice to be given to the staff who make a stay at a royal residence work. Such accommodation would nevertheless be made available to the duke and his family in future, it was said.
But if that all looked like a bit of an unedifying mess, what really upset Harry’s team was the suggestion the invitation had been withdrawn over fears the king would be put in an awkward position when a high court judge rules in a case involving his youngest son on Tuesday.
The palace and Harry were said to have worked together to get the complex arrangements in order – and an agreement seemed to be in sight. So, Harry’s spokesperson said, it was “disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn” partly because of the impending judgment when officials had “been aware of [it] since last Thursday”. The spokesperson said they were mystified by the timing of the decision to withdraw the offer, if those concerns were at its heart.
The high court case brought by Harry and others against the Daily Mail’s publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) centres on claims of unlawful information-gathering. These include allegations of voicemail interception, landline tapping and obtaining information by deception – also known as “blagging” – carried out by private investigators, freelance journalists and ANL staff.
The firm has denied the claims and said it had “established a complete defence to all parts of the claims on the merits” – adding that the cases have been brought too late.
It is not known when, or even whether, Harry will see his father during his trip. The king has a busy run of engagements this week while his son is carrying out five days of appearances in England, including marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.
No decision has been made as to whether Harry’s family will join him for the other parts of the UK visit outside of the capital. It had been reported he wanted to take them to see the final resting place of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales at Althorp in Northamptonshire, as well as reuniting his children with their grandfather the king, who is still undergoing treatment for cancer, for the first time in four years.
