Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cannot return to the UK now - the consequences would be dramatic

Meghan Markle
-Credit: (Image: Getty)


Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be set to return to the UK later this year with their children. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly been invited to celebrate the festive season at Althorp House with Harry's uncle, Charles, Earl Spencer.

Should Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, accept the invitation, it would mark Meghan's first significant visit to the UK since attending the late Queen's funeral in 2022. It may seem unlikely that the Sussexes will opt to spend the festive period in the UK, as they have not spent Christmas in the UK since 2018. Harry is also embroiled in a legal dispute against the UK Government over his taxpayer-funded security, having previously claimed he feels it is unsafe for him, Meghan and their two children to come to the UK.

Meghan and Harry in Colombia
Harry and Meghan have reportedly been invited to spend Christmas in the UK -Credit:CARLOS ORTEGA/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Former BBC Royal correspondent Jennie Bond has revealed that should Harry and Meghan accept the Spencer family's Christmas offer - if one has been made - that it would contradict everything Harry has said about security and safety in the UK. She claimed it would be "odd" for the Sussexes to travel to the UK for Christmas, especially while Harry's legal appeal is still on-going.

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Speaking exclusively to OK!, Jennie said: "Well, if an offer has indeed been made — which seems quite logical — and if they accepted, it would fly in the face of everything Harry has said about security. He has repeatedly said he believes it’s unsafe to bring his wife and children to the UK without a guarantee of official security.

"That situation is extremely unlikely to change at all, and certainly not before Christmas. So I think it would be very odd indeed if the family suddenly fetched up here. It would surely mean that Harry was going to abandon his legal appeal against the ruling? Therefore, I do not think that we shall be seeing them in the UK for Christmas, or indeed anytime soon."

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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 08: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 24 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (wearing a Household Division regimental tie) attends The Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service at St Paul's Cathedral on May 8, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Prince Harry has been critical of the security for him and his family in the UK -Credit:Getty Images

The new reports come after it was claimed that Prince Harry paid a visit to Althorp House - the ancestral home of the Spencer family and the final resting place of his late mother - during his recent trip to the UK. The Duke was present at Lord Robert Fellowes' memorial service in Norfolk on 28 August.

Prince Harry is believed to have stayed at the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire. His brother, Prince William, also attended the funeral, but according to eyewitnesses, the two brothers maintained their distance and sat separately at the back of St Mary's Church.