It is the kind of moment that could soften even the most entrenched royal standoff — a grandfather's hug from grandchildren he has not seen in four years. But as Prince Harry prepares to travel to the UK within days, that reunion remains frustratingly out of reach, held hostage by an ongoing dispute over taxpayer-funded police protection.
Harry is due to arrive in Britain for a five-day visit centred on the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham. The trip has been in the diary for several weeks, and until recently it was understood that Meghan, along with the couple's children Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, would be joining him. That plan is now in serious doubt after Harry's request for Metropolitan Police protection for the duration of the visit was reportedly denied.
A Father Doing 'What Most Fathers Would Do'
Royal commentator Robert Jobson, speaking to Newsweek, has offered a sympathetic reading of Harry's position — even as he acknowledges the Duke is unlikely to win widespread public sympathy over a fight many feel he brought upon himself.
"Harry's heart was in the right place. He wanted to bring his children to get to know their grandfather, now they are old enough to remember it. Charles would have wanted that too. A hug from grandchildren he has not seen since June 2022."
Jobson was equally direct about the practicalities. Harry lost a court battle over his protection status in 2025 and requested a reassessment of the risk — only to be told days before the planned trip that the answer remained no. "A father who then refuses to expose his children is doing what most fathers would do," Jobson said.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex confirmed this week that Harry's team is "exploring every option available to enable the visit to proceed safely", suggesting the door has not been entirely closed on a family trip — but equally that nothing is guaranteed.
Four Years Without a Visit
The last time King Charles is understood to have seen Archie and Lilibet in person was June 2022, during the late Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Since then, the Sussex family has remained based in Montecito, California, and relations between Harry and the senior members of the Royal Family have been strained by a succession of public disputes, legal battles and the fallout from the couple's decision to step back from royal duties in early 2020.
According to an insider quoted by News.com.au, the situation has been a source of genuine personal pain for Harry. "It's been a real point of great sadness — for Harry especially — that he's been unable to bring his wife and kids back to the UK safely to reconnect with friends and family," the source said. "He would love to introduce the children to his wider family, to show them the UK, where he grew up — his homeland. That would be a natural thing for any parent."
The Deal He Chose in 2020
Jobson was careful not to let Harry entirely off the hook. He noted that King Charles had raised questions with his son before the Sussexes' departure from royal life, asking whether Harry had fully thought through the implications of leaving — including what it might mean for security arrangements.
"King Charles asked him, long before he left, whether he had thought it through. Harry believed protection would follow as a matter of course. It did not. The obstacles in his path now flow from the deal he chose in 2020."
It is a pointed reminder that, whatever sympathy exists for Harry's position as a father wanting to protect his children, the current impasse is one that stems directly from choices the Duke himself made. His grievances may be real, as Jobson concedes — but so are the consequences.
Whether Archie and Lilibet ultimately make the trip remains to be seen. For King Charles, reportedly in ongoing treatment for cancer, the prospect of time with his youngest grandchildren will no doubt carry its own particular weight. The question is whether the security framework can be resolved quickly enough to make it happen — and whether Harry will take the risk if it cannot.
