According to royal author Tom Quinn, the Prince and Princess of Wales have spoken to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about a reunion
Prince William and Kate Middleton have ‘asked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to bring their children to visit’, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are currently living in Montecito with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with Prince Harry next due to visit the UK in May. The royal father-of-two is set to speak at a special service marking the anniversary of the event which will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on May 8.
According to sources, Meghan Markle is currently also ‘listed as a guest’ for the event, with insiders telling the Express, ‘Both Harry and Meghan are listed as guests and a speech has been scheduled, but there is still a question mark over whether Meghan will make an appearance. Her name has been pencilled in as a TBC (to be confirmed)’.
As questions remain over whether the Duchess of Sussex will join the Duke next month, one royal author is claiming the Prince and Princess of Wales have invited the whole family to be reunited. Speaking to the Mirror, Tom Quinn said Kate and William have asked Meghan and Harry to bring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to the UK to visit. He said, ‘William and Kate have suggested that Meghan and Harry bring the children and that the two couples and their families try to make up, but the suggestion is not leading anywhere so far.’
However the royal author went on to claim there was ‘no way’ Meghan would bring her children to the UK.
While Archie was born in the UK, and lived in the country for the first year of his life before Prince Harry and Meghan moved state-side, Lilibet is believed to have only visited the country once. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex bought both their children to Britain to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, which coincided with Lilibet’s first birthday. Prince Harry and Meghan held a party for the little girl at their home of Frogmore Cottage and the Duke later revealed Lilibet had been introduced to the Queen on that trip.
In his explosive memoir Spare, he wrote about returning to California after the Queen’s funeral in September 2022, writing, ‘For days and days we couldn’t stop hugging the children, couldn’t let them out of our sight – though I also couldn’t stop picturing them with Granny. The final visit.
‘Archie making deep, chivalrous bows, his baby sister Lilibet cuddling the monarch’s shins. Sweetest children, Granny said, sounding bemused. She’d expected them to be a bit more…American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious.’
Sources at the time told BBC that the trip had been ‘wonderful’, saying the King had had a ‘very emotional’ first meeting with Lilibet. While the couple did visit the UK in September 2022, extending the trip as they attended the Queen’s funeral, their children did not join them. It is not known whether Prince William and Kate Middleton have met their niece Lilibet in person.
It’s possible this is due to the security risks in bringing Archie and Lilibet to the UK. The Sussexes stepped back from working royal life in 2020, relocating to Montecito in California. Since then, there have long been questions over their security detail in the UK – and in February, the Duke lost his High Court challenge over his level of protection when visiting the UK. In February 2020, The Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), made the decision that the Duke would no longer receive automatic police protection since he stepped down as a ‘working royal.’ Ravec has delegated responsibility from the Home Office and also works with the Metropolitan Police. His legal team had argued that the decision was ‘unlawful and unfair.’
However in February, in the court’s press summary, the High Court ruled that even ‘if such procedural unfairness occurred, the court would in any event be prevented from granting the claimant relief. This is because, leaving aside any such unlawfulness, it is highly likely that the outcome for the claimant would not have been substantially different.’
The Home Office gave a statement to The Daily Telegraph about the judgement. ‘We are pleased that the Court has found in favour of the Government’s position in this case, and we are carefully considering our next steps. It would be inappropriate to comment further,’ the statement read. It continued: ‘the UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.’
Through a legal spokesperson, the Duke announced that he will take his challenge to the Court of Appeal. They said that: ‘The Duke of Sussex hopes he will obtain justice from the Court of Appeal, and makes no further comment while the case is ongoing.’
It’s possible security risks aren’t the only reason the couple wouldn’t bring their children for a reunion with Prince William and Kate, however. Relations between the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family have deteriorated in recent years – reaching a major low after the publication of Harry’s memoir Spare, in which he accused the Queen of sacrificing him on her ‘PR altar’ and detailed a range of other grievances, including an alleged physical attack by the Prince of Wales.
In Spare, Harry described his relationship with William as ‘a rolling catastrophe’ and claimed that William had physically attacked him. What better time than now for the brothers to find some healing? It would certainly be a welcome development in the family – but it seems a distant prospect. The hurt is clearly still very real for William; and in Harry’s narrative, the hurt goes on for him too.
In fact, the final official joint engagement the brothers carried out in person together was the unveiling of their mother’s statue at Kensington Palace in July 2021. Since then, they have attended a number of group events together, including the King’s Coronation, but have not been seen interacting just the two of them.
The rift is believed to have grown so deep that Prince William and Kate Middleton didn’t share news of the Princess’ cancer diagnosis with Prince Harry and Meghan. Instead, the couple learnt of her health battle at the same time as the rest of the world.
Since then, there have been signs of a thawing between the two couples, however. In a statement shared after Kate’s public message was shared, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said, ‘We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.’ According to ITV’s Chris Ship, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle then reached out to Prince William and Kate Middleton privately.