This has got to hurt.
King Charles III has revoked his offer for Prince Harry to stay at a royal residence during his UK visit — and he did it at the very last minute!
As Perezcious readers know, Harry was all set to bring his wife, Meghan Markle, and kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with him as he returned home this week for work events. It would’ve been the first time his whole family was in his home country in YEARS! His Majesty was offering them housing and even help with some security arrangements, per reports, but the plans were disrupted when Harry wasn’t granted taxpayer-funded police protection for his family.
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Still, the offer to stay in a royal pad was on the table, and it seemed like Harry was doing whatever he could to try to make the trip happen. But the invite was pulled out from under him — after he accepted!
According to reports, Harry had until Saturday (July 4) to respond to his father’s invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace during his travels. Per People on Monday, palace sources claim he initially rejected the offer on Saturday — but later in the same day, changed his mind and accepted. But by that point, it was too late. The Duke of Sussex’s spokesman said in a statement that Harry’s invitation was “withdrawn.” They explained:
“Following RAVEC’s [Royal and VIP Executive Committee] 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 spokesman went on to slam the royals’ claim that part of the reason the invitation was declined was because of Harry’s lawsuit against the publisher of DailyMail.com, the results of which will be announced on Tuesday. His PR team continued:
“It is therefore disappointing that the offer has now been withdrawn, with Tuesday’s judgment in the Associated Newspapers Limited case cited as the reason.”
Why are they blasting this reason?? Per the BBC, some palace sources feared Harry staying at a royal residence on the day of the verdict — especially if the Spare author makes any controversial remarks in response — would be a bad look for the King, who must remain neutral. But Harry’s camp argues it’s a BS excuse considering they were well aware of the announcement coming in:
“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.”
Meanwhile, BBC and ITV News‘ Buckingham Palace sources are insisting Harry simply accepted the offer too late, citing a deadline by the end of last week, which needed to be met to give household staff enough time to prepare.
Harry arrived by himself on Monday. It’s unclear where he’s staying. After this mess, it’s hard to know if he’ll move forward with trying to see his father, either. Oof! What a disaster!
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[Image via MEGA/WENN]
