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Meghan Markle isn’t going to return to the U.K. without the security she deserves — that’s what Prince Harry recently said in his ITV interview for the documentary, Tabloids on Trial. It also means that Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet will not be making frequent visits to their father’s home country to see the royal family. The Duke of Sussex has stated his case over and over again in court, and it seems that King Charles III has a solution, but won’t enact it.
With one swift move, Charles could end this security standoff, get the opportunity to know his grandchildren, and genuinely end the royal feud that has been on a steady simmer since 2020. A palace insider explained to The Daily Beast why the debacle is “totally fascinating.” They revealed, “I think Harry needs to ask himself why Charles hasn’t overruled RAVEC, which, for all the insistence that he couldn’t, he could, being the king and all.” The Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) removed his “right to automatic police protection” after his exit from the palace. Even though Harry is willing to pay for this security out of pocket, he’s been refused from every angle.
Why won’t Charles make this relatively simple move? Well, take one look at Prince Harry and Meghan’s successful visit to Nigeria and you have your answer. “It’s because the last thing the Palace wants is Harry and Meghan turning up unannounced on a regular basis or setting up a rival royal court in the U.K.,” the source continued. “As things stand now, they have to give 28 days’ notice when they are coming and essentially need to pre-agree with the cops where they are going to be or might be, at all times. That suits the Palace down to the ground.”
Royal author Phil Dampier criticized the Sussexes to the Daily Mail for trying “to set up a rival court, their own royal roadshow” ahead of their May trip to Nigeria. He believed they were leveraging “their royal connections” for unofficial visits that could “blunder into a diplomatic incident” if something went wrong. Spoiler alert: The visit was a resounding success. However, Charles and Prince William reportedly didn’t love Harry and Meghan’s philanthropic trip to promote the Invictus Games because it “diminished” their roles in the British Commonwealth.
Tom Quinn, the author of Scandals of the Royal Palaces: An Intimate Memoir of Royals Behaving Badly, told the Mirror that the Prince Of Wales was made “to feel a bit like a spare himself” because “for the first time in his life he is being overshadowed by his brother and sister-in-law.” If Harry and Meghan had the extra security they needed, the royal family reportedly fears they would set up a second U.K. residence and take over the headlines. Besides Kate Middleton, Charles and William know that Harry and Meghan are the ones people clamor to, and it seems that there might be a bit of jealousy in play. By keeping Prince Harry’s security requests at bay, the palace can control the royal narrative.
Before you go, click here to find out which tell-all books expose major royal family secrets.
