Heartbreaking reason Prince Harry didn’t bring Archie and Lilibet to UK before Queen died

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told the Home Office that the family was planning on travelling to the UK in September 2022, days before Queen Elizabeth died. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did have plans to bring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet with them to the UK from September 2 until September 11 2022 but their security was blocked.

According to information found in the judicial review judgement from the Prince’s security court case, the Sussexes notified the Home Office that August of their plans to travel to the UK, just days before Queen Elizabeth died. The following week Ravec (Royal and VIP Executive Committee) met to decide what kind of security arrangements should be provided, however their decision was rejected by Harry’s lawyers as “not lawful and plainly inadequate”.

Ravec stood firm and did not “consider it necessary or appropriate” to reconsider their decision, even after the Duke of Sussex spoke to the body in a video call to express his concerns. Harry and Meghan had plans to attend charity events in the UK during their time here, with Ravec’s decision over security beong taken before details of these visits were made public. Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020, and as a consequence they lost their right to taxpayer-funded security when they are in the UK.

In the US they have their own private security detail, which costs them a hefty $2 million (£1.58 million) per year, however following the decision to strip them of their UK security in February 2020 Harry brought a case against the Home Office. His lawyers argued that it was unlawful to remove his security, but on Wednesday the High Court found this was not the case and the decision taken by the Home Office stands.

Judge Sir Peter Lane found “there has not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision” to revise his security, adding: “Any departure from policy was justified. The decision was not irrational. The decision was not marred by procedural unfairness.” Following the judgement a legal spokesperson for the Duke said: “The Duke of Sussex will appeal today’s judgment which refuses his judicial review claim against the decision-making body Ravec, which includes the Home Office, the Royal Household and the Met Police.

“Although these are not labels used by Ravec, three categories – as revealed during the litigation – comprise the ‘Ravec cohort’: the Role Based Category, the Occasional Category and the Other VIP Category. “The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of Ravec’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with Ravec’s own written policy.

“In February 2020, Ravec failed to apply its written policy to the Duke of Sussex and excluded him from a particular risk analysis. The Duke’s case is that the so-called ‘bespoke process’ that applies to him, is no substitute for that risk analysis. “The Duke of Sussex hopes he will obtain justice from the Court of Appeal, and makes no further comment while the case is ongoing.”