Prince Harry is hoping to bring his family to Britain this summer for the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham — but whether he can depends on a security review that Meghan’s commercial activities in Australia may have just complicated.
Harry is understood to be keen to make the visit a family affair, bringing wife Meghan Markle and their children Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four. He is even said to be hoping to take the youngsters to Sandringham for family time with King Charles. But he has repeatedly insisted it is not safe to bring his family to the UK unless he receives full armed police protection — and that decision remains pending.
Harry is currently appealing a High Court ruling that backed a Home Office decision to downgrade his protection. The RAVEC — the Royal and VIP Executive Committee — concluded that the automatic round-the-clock Metropolitan Police protection he enjoyed as a working royal was no longer appropriate given he lives in the US and is no longer on the royal payroll.
Harry argues that as the son of the King, full security is his birthright and that the threat to him and his family demands nothing less.
How has the Australia tour complicated things for Meghan and Harry?
The Duke and Duchess’s recent quasi-royal tour of Australia has muddied the waters considerably, repots Hello!. Meghan announced a partnership with AI-driven shopping platform OneOff to advertise the outfits she wore during the visit, earning a cut of any sales.
These included a dress worn to a homeless shelter and the outfit she wore to meet survivors of last year’s Bondi Beach terrorist attack — which was later quietly removed from the platform following a wave of criticism.
The question now hanging over the Home Office is this: if Harry wins back taxpayer-funded security for himself and his family, and the couple then visit the UK for charity engagements, will Meghan use those appearances as commercial opportunities in the same way she did in Australia?
If she does, critics would rightly question whether the public should be footing the bill for security during what are, in effect, money-making ventures.
Where does Meghan’s income now come from?
It is precisely the kind of complication the late Queen sought to avoid when she told Harry in 2020 that there could be no “half-in, half-out” arrangement for working members of the royal family. She recognised that the Sussexes’ plan to pursue financial independence while continuing charity work was fraught with difficulty — and concluded it simply was not possible.
Harry and Meghan are no longer on the royal payroll and must fund their own lifestyle — including substantial security costs. After lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify came to an end, Meghan is now building her lifestyle brand As Ever. Monetising her wardrobe could prove a valuable additional income stream.
But with the final security decision still unresolved, some will view her decision to cash in on her Australian appearances as a costly miscalculation — a blunder Down Under at the worst possible moment.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
