Prince Harry will visit London next week without Meghan and their children, citing security concerns

Prince Harry will travel to London next week without Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, as security arrangements for the visit remain under review, a source told AFP and reported by CBS News on July 4. The source said Meghan and the children may join him for at least part of the trip later, but they will not accompany him during the London portion.

The decision marks a change to an earlier expectation that the prince would return to the United Kingdom as a family for the first time in four years. According to the CBS report, the London segment will include only Harry, while the remaining itinerary for the rest of the multi-day trip is still being arranged. That leaves uncertainty over whether the family will stay together outside London for subsequent engagements.

Harry, 41, is scheduled to visit next week to mark the one-year countdown toward next year’s Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded and injured service members that he launched in 2014. The games are set for July 10 to 17, 2027, and the London trip forms part of charity and public-facing work connected to that planning cycle, the report said.

The CBS report tied the updated travel plan to ongoing concerns about the family’s safety in the U.K. It noted that last year Harry raised worries about whether he could take his family back to the country “safely” after losing a court case seeking full police protection restored during U.K. visits. At the time, he said it was impossible to bring his family back safely, according to the CBS summary of his remarks to the BBC.

In the latest coverage, the security concern is described as the main practical reason behind the London-only separation. The CBS report referenced tabloid reporting that Harry had been expected to make an engagement in London with Meghan, but would now go alone “for security reasons,” while also citing that arrangements for accommodations earlier in the month included staying at royal residences and that he and his family were expected to be guests of King Charles III, as reported by the BBC.

The change also comes amid heightened attention to the legal and administrative framework governing protection for individuals with specific security needs in the U.K. While the CBS report did not provide new court rulings or new government determinations tied directly to the London leg, it underscored that past attempts to secure expanded policing have been contested and tied to a broader dispute over what protection is available and on what terms.

As of July 4, it was unclear whether Meghan and the children would ultimately travel to the U.K. together with Harry for the non-London portion of the trip, or whether they would remain abroad. The CBS report indicated that arrangements for the rest of the schedule were still under consideration, leaving the full family travel plan contingent on final security and logistics decisions.

If the London segment proceeds as described, the immediate effect will be that Harry will conduct any London engagements without his wife and children, limiting family travel during the period when security is the central constraint. The next step for observers and for the U.K. security and event-planning system will be clarification of where the rest of the trip occurs and what protective measures will apply to the prince and to any family members who join him outside the capital.