HE THOUGHT THE PALACE DOORS WERE OPEN — BUT THE MESSAGE CAME TOO LATE. Buckingham Palace has pushed back against claims from Prince Harry’s team that the Duke of Sussex will be staying at a royal residence during his upcoming trip to London, insisting the invitation was never confirmed in time.

Buckingham Palace has denied claims from Prince Harry’s team that the Duke of Sussex will stay at the royal residence during an upcoming visit to London, saying Harry did not respond to an invitation in time.

On Monday morning (evening AEST), a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex said the 41-year-old had officially accepted the invitation ahead of his upcoming arrival in the United Kingdom this week.

Prince Harry is set to stay at Buckingham Palace this week – or at least he was until the palace had its say. AP

However, shortly after, the BBC and several other UK outlets reported Buckingham Palace had issued a contradictory statement.

A spokesperson for the palace reportedly said the prince had not formally accepted his invitation in time and was told over the weekend that, as a result, he could not stay at the royal residence.

Prince Harry’s team has since responded, saying it was “disappointing” that the offer to stay at the palace had been “withdrawn”.

“It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment,” said the spokesman for the Duke of Sussex, according to the BBC.

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The Duke of Sussex is visiting the UK for an event to mark one year to go until the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.

Coldstream Guards outside Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Colour on June 13. Chris Jackson/Getty Images

However, he reportedly won’t be joined in London by wife Meghan or the couple’s two children, Archie and Lilibet, although the family may link up again in Birmingham.

The four of them had been expected to travel to the UK together, only for those plans to be scrapped after it emerged late in June that a request from Harry for taxpayer-funded police protection had been denied.

Before that change of plans, King Charles had offered to provide accommodation for the quartet, who live in the United States, at an unnamed royal residence.

Charles hasn’t seen his seven- and five-year-old grandchildren in person since early 2022, during the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee, and Harry and Meghan haven’t travelled to the UK together since the queen’s funeral later that year.

Harry has travelled to his home country alone since then, including in last September for his most recent face-to-face meeting with King Charles.