Prince Harry returns to UK without Meghan and children over security fears

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, is expected to travel to the United Kingdom next month for events connected to the Invictus Games in Birmingham, without Wife Meghan Markle or their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Sources told People magazine that security concerns remain the principal obstacle preventing the family from making the trip together. The visit comes as preparations continue for the 2027 Invictus Games, which Birmingham is set to host.

Security fears at the heart of the issue

Speculation has been building ahead of the trip over whether Harry might use the occasion to bring Archie and Lilibet to Britain, particularly given his repeated public statements about wanting his children to feel connected to their British heritage.

However, the family's absence is understood to stem from the same long-running dispute that has kept them away on previous occasions. Harry lost his state-funded police protection following the couple's decision to step back as working royals in 2020, a development he has consistently argued makes it unsafe to bring his family to the UK.

Harry has spoken directly about the issue on the record, stating: "The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States."

He added: "That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil." He also made clear the personal risk he feels the situation poses, saying: "I can't put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I'm reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too."