The Duke of Sussex is expected to arrive in his home country later today, but the visit has been fraught with obstacles long before it even began14:02, 06 Jul 2026In a matter of hours, Prince Harry will be touching down in the UK for a five-day visit. The main purpose of the Duke of Sussex ’s trip to his home country is to attend a special event in Birmingham marking the one year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.‌And while this may seem like a straightforward visit for Harry, it has so far been anything but. He has faced issues over security and whether to bring his family along with him, while also juggling when, and if, he will see his father King Charles. Just this morning, there was more turbulence as Harry was refused a stay at Buckingham Palace during his visit.‌Here’s everything we know so far about Harry’s trip to the UK, and what has gone wrong for the prince before the visit even started.‌Royal accommodation revokedWhen the visit to the UK was first announced, the Mirror reported that Harry had been offered to stay in a royal residence while in his home country by invitation of the King, with Buckingham Palace being on offer. It is believed that when Harry’s security measures were thrown into disarray, he held off on accepting the offer, unsure whether the trip would still take place as planned.However, as of 8.30am this morning, reports emerged that Harry had formally accepted the invitation to stay at Buckingham Palace during his time in London. Less than one hour later, at 9.18am, the Palace issued a statement saying he will not be staying at the Palace, with the invitation being revoked as the accommodation is no longer available.‌Buckingham Palace has 240 bedrooms, with 52 of these reserved for royals and their guests. To keep things running smoothly and safely, a number of staff and security are required to be present when a member of the Royal Family is staying in the Palace.According to a royal source, the London residence required a minimum level of notice so a guest may be hosted appropriately. Given Harry reportedly left it to the last minute to accept the offer, it was withdrawn.‌Just 25 minutes later, at 9.43am, a spokesman for Harry and Meghan told the Mirror: “I am aware of multiple briefings from Buckingham Palace last week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. 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.”‌On Tuesday, the result of Harry's legal case against the Daily Mail publishers will be announced, more than five months after Harry gave evidence in London's High Court. It is believed the Palace cited this so King Charles remains impartial to the judgment. In order to maintain his neutrality in court matters, the Palace claimed it would be inappropriate for Harry to be staying at a royal residence when the ruling is announced.In contradiction to the statement from the Sussex’s spokesman, the Palace issued a secondary statement at 11:47am saying Harry was informed of the changes to his accommodation on Saturday evening. It is understood Harry now plans to stay in private accommodation, at an undisclosed location, after he arrives in the UK later today.At 1:01pm today, the Sussex camp hit back again, questioning what the motivation was for cancelling Harry’s one-night stay at Buckingham Palace. Harry’s spokesperson queried whether it was the delayed timing of Harry’s acceptance, or the upcoming High Court judgement that was the real reason for the accommodation being revoked.‌They once again said how disappointing it is to have the accommodation cancelled, saying how Harry has followed all the correct protocol when planning his UK trip, which has now been thrown into disarray.Security rowWhen Harry’s UK trip was first announced, a source close to the prince revealed that he was looking forward to bringing his wife Meghan Markle and their children Archie and Lilibet with him to his home country, on what would be their first family trip to Britain since 2022. The source told The Telegraph that Harry has longed for his kids to spend time with their grandfather, the King, as they said: “He has wanted to have his kids meet their grandfather, especially after their summit in London last year. While there have been deep-seated trust issues around Harry, there is a sense now that all parties want peace.”And while many believed Meghan and the children would be joining Harry for the duration of his trip, things quickly changed when Harry’s fight for security didn’t have a favourable outcome. As has been standard practice for the prince over the years when returning to the UK, Harry had to put in an official request for police protection throughout the duration of the trip, which is largely funded by the taxpayer. However, the request has been denied for the upcoming trip.‌The duke is also waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board (RMB), part of the process by which the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) rules on his security requirements, but found out last week that this has yet to take place. A source close to the Sussexes said that Harry was finding the planning for his trip very difficult, as he wants to bring his family to his home country, but is very concerned about their safety.The source said: “Harry is devastated and in absolute turmoil over this decision. He is incredibly frustrated at the lack of action from the Home Office and its delay in making a decision. He has blamed dark forces for stopping his family coming to the UK and arranging to see the King. Everything is very much up in the air.”‌Meghan, Archie and LilibetArmed with the news that he and his family will not be receiving any police protection while in the UK, Harry made a decision over the weekend about whether or not his family will join him for the trip. The prince reportedly decided that without adequate security, it is not safe for Meghan, Archie and Lilibet to come to the UK, and therefore will not be coming with Harry to London.While the family will not join Harry in the capital, it remains unclear if they will join Harry for the rest of his visit outside of London. It appears that the family will at least spend part of the week, if Meghan and the children do make the trip to the UK at all, at Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer’s Althorp home in Northamptonshire.‌Meeting the KingWhen the visit was announced, sources close to Harry said he was looking forward to spending time with his father, with their last meeting being in September last year. Harry was especially keen to see his kids spend some long overdue time with their grandfather.But with the last minute announcement that Meghan, Archie and Lilibet will not be coming to London, it is now unclear if the King will get to see his grandchildren at all. A royal source said that the King has a very busy week ahead, and has ‘no plans’ to alter his diary to fit in such a meeting at the last minute.‌Another source said it would now be “immensely difficult” for Harry to arrange a meeting with the King due to the last minute changes, as Charles has public engagements and private meetings every day of the coming week.One insider said: “This whole business has become incredibly tiresome and it remains unresolved less than 24 hours before the Duke is supposed to be arriving. The King takes his public work incredibly seriously and there will be no last minute deviations to his plans.”Article continues belowIt has been suggested that the Sussexes could meet the King at one of his country residences, either Highgrove in Gloucestershire or Sandringham in Norfolk on Saturday following the Invictus event, although a request has not been made.