The King and Prince William had a family dinner in Scotland on Tuesday night – just days before Prince Harry is due to visit the UK with his family
The King, Queen, Prince William and Prince Edward at the Thistle Service in Edinburgh today (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The King had a family dinner with Prince William on Tuesday – just days before Prince Harry’s imminent return to the UK.
The dinner took place as the Duke of Sussex was accused of attempting to pressure the government by announcing he was bringing his family to Britain before he received notice of his security review for his upcoming trip. Charles is currently in Scotland alongside Queen Camilla for their annual week carrying out engagements north of the border – with Prince William also in Aberdeen on Tuesday for a visit with his Homewards project.
And with father and son both Edinburgh on Tuesday night, the King and Camilla hosted William at the Palace of Holyroodhouse for a rare ‘dine and sleep’ before they attended the Order of the Thistle Service at St Giles Cathedral along with Prince Edward today.
The royals in the procession during the Thistle ceremony(Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
The get-together was private and there is no official record of it or what was discussed. However, with Harry’s imminent return to the UK for events next week with his wife Meghan and children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet dominating headlines, it’s possible the situation could have come up in conversation.
Harry is understood to have reacted with fury after being told by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) he would not receive round the clock police protection for his visit to the UK next week.
He believed he would be given the protection after his personal security team submitted a Threat Risk Assessment to the Home Office, leading him to put out a public statement that he was travelling to the UK with wife Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, for the first time in four years.
But he was left stunned after releasing the quasi-royal operational note last friday when Ravec sent him a letter 24 hours later stating their situation had not changed. Home Office sources accused the Prince of an “attempt to pressure the government”, when the British government had given no indication its position would change.
Prince Harry and Meghan with their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet (Image: @meghan/Instagram)
Harry and Meghan were stripped of their taxpayer funded security in the UK when they quit their royal roles in March 2020. The Duke was led to believe a threat assessment had been carried out by the Risk Management Board (RMB), leading him to gamble that his security request would be approved. Yet it emerged that no such assessment had been carried out leading to Harry being left dumbfounded that he would not get his way.
A source said: “The position has not changed and the Duke of Sussex has been duly notified. Any decision by the Duke to travel to the United Kingdom is entirely one for him alone and will not be swayed by any external attempt to pressure the government.”
However, a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “Any suggestion that the Duke sought to influence or pressure RAVEC or the Home Secretary is wholly at odds with the documented sequence of events. He simply proceeded on the basis of the written assurances he had been given by the responsible authorities.”
It comes as the Mirror revealed earlier this week that the King is still waiting for Prince Harry to accept his offer of staying at a royal residence with his family next week, as the Duke of Sussex hit out at the government for not providing him with taxpayer-funded security.
Charles is currently in Scotland alongside Queen Camilla for their annual week carrying out engagements north of the border(Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
A royal source said: “Buckingham Palace is still waiting for the Duke’s decision. It is incredibly frustrating, given arrangements need to be made to facilitate any guest of the King’s accepting an invitation to visit a royal residence.”
Harry wants to bring his family to meet his father for the first time since they were all in the UK in the summer of 2022, to attend the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. There is hope the King will be able to reunite with his youngest grandchildren for the first time in four years.
Today, Charles, Camilla, William and Edward all donned traditional robes and plumed hats for the Order of the Thistle service at St Giles Cathedral, where they walked in a procession.
The Order is the highest order of chivalry in Scotland, and its 16 members are made up of Scottish men and women, who have contributed to national life.
Elsewhere, Princess Anne, who had also been in Scotland earlier this week travelled to France, where, alongside the Duke of Gloucester she attended commemorations to mark the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
