Prince Harry’s Offer to Stay at Buckingham Palace During London Visit ‘Withdrawn’ at ‘Last Moment’ After He ‘Accepted’ It

The Duke of Sussex will be arriving into London solo after deciding that his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, would not join him during his trip

Prince Harry’s visit to the U.K. was thrown into more controversy and confusion on Monday, July 6.

The offer for the Duke of Sussex, 41, to stay at Buckingham Palace has been “withdrawn,” his spokesman said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, shortly after the BBC first reported that he had accepted an invitation to stay at the royal residence during his visit.

After more than a week of questions about whether Harry would accept the invitation from his father, King Charles, to stay at a royal residence during his visit to London, it emerged that he had accepted it on Saturday, July 4, before then being told that it was too late to do so.

The situation is complicated by the denial of official taxpayer-funded security by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) to the Duke of Sussex and his family. This was behind his decision over the weekend that he come alone to London, and not bring his wife Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

Harry’s team had spent several days exploring ways they could make the visit work, with increased private security packages.

However, palace sources, who said he had until the end of last week to accept the accommodation offer, have now claimed that he initially declined the invitation to stay there, before accepting it later on Saturday.

The issue is also made problematic by the fact that a judgment in the case that he and other prominent people, including Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, took against the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers, is to be made on Tuesday, July 7. King Charles, 77, the sources said, could not appear to be compromised when a legal case was ongoing.

A spokesman for Prince Harry said in a statement on Monday, July 6, “I am aware of multiple briefings from Buckingham Palace last week suggesting that the Duke had not accepted the offer of accommodation at a Royal Residence.”

“Following RAVEC’s decision not to provide security for his family, the Duke spent last week making alternative security arrangements. Once those arrangements were in place, he was able to formally accept the offer of accommodation for himself over the weekend,” the spokesperson added.

“It is therefore disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn, with Tuesday’s judgment in the Associated Newspapers Limited case cited as the reason. Buckingham Palace has, however, been aware of that judgment since last Thursday. It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment,” the statement continued.

Royal sources said that Prince Harry had until the end of last week to accept the offer, so that the Royal Household staff could prepare for him. It is believed that he declined the invitation on Saturday, July 4 and then accepted later on in the day.

The statement followed a morning of confusion. Initially, it was reported by the BBC that Harry was to stay at Buckingham Palace, attributing that report to his spokesman. However, the palace then said that this was not correct.

The latest news comes after PEOPLE reported on Saturday that Harry does not deem it secure enough to bring his wife and children to the U.K. capital. It remains to be seen whether the family will join the Duke of Sussex for other parts of his visit outside London later in the week.

Harry has a series of events in London based around his Invictus Games, beginning on Tuesday, which is the day when he will also hear the judgment in the case against the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.

Harry and Meghan had hoped to bring Archie and Lilibet back to Britain for the first time since 2022, with the Duke of Sussex determined to give his children the chance to experience the country where he grew up and potentially spend time with his father, King Charles. Their absence from the London leg of the trip now raises questions about whether a family reunion will happen during the visit.

The family’s security concerns have been an ongoing issue. In a statement shared with PEOPLE on June 29, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said, “The issue is whether appropriate and proportionate protective security is being provided throughout the entirety of the visit.”

While the King offered accommodations on a royal estate, the security arrangements would not extend beyond the property. Then, his team said that the prince was continuing to “explore every available option to enable the visit to proceed safely and to give his children the opportunity to enjoy the U.K.”

Harry is making this trip timed to the one-year countdown to the next edition of his Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham, England, in July 2027.

Soon after it was announced that Harry and his family hoped to come to the U.K., PEOPLE learned that King Charles had offered royal accommodations to his younger son and his family.

The landmark visit comes a year after Prince Harry told the BBC he “can’t see a world” in which he would bring his family back to his home country without the police protection he has long sought to have restored. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex lost their taxpayer-funded security in Britain after stepping back from their royal roles in the U.K. in 2020.

Despite a long-awaited review of Harry’s security by RAVEC, Harry and his family have been told that no extra taxpayer funded security is forthcoming for this trip.

The Duke of Sussex has made many trips to the U.K. for charity work and court cases since stepping back in 2020 and last met with his father in person in September 2025.

Meghan, meanwhile, was last in the U.K. in September 2022 when she and Harry extended a trip to Europe to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral events, which the Duke of Sussex wrote in his 2023 memoir, Spare, was longer than they’d ever been away from Archie and Lili.