OPINION ELEANOR BURLEIGH: Prince Harry’s actions contradict his supposed desperation to protect his family ahead of a highly-publicised return to the UK
The Duke of Sussex is expected to return to Britain this month (Image: Getty)
Prince Harry could bring his wife and children to the UK for the first time in four years this month – or he could not, depending on which heavily-briefed reports you’ve been reading. The King’s second son has repeatedly cited security concerns as a major reason for keeping his two children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, from seeing their grandfather.
But the constant back-and-forth on whether he’ll bring them over the pond when he returns to mark the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games has done nothing but publicise the trip – something Harry, if he is genuine about protecting his family, would surely want to avoid.
The Duke of Sussex has admitted that his public spat with the Home Office over his security arrangements has damaged the relationship between him and his father. The Sussex camp’s onslaught of media briefings – that Harry will bring his family to the UK, then that he won’t, alternating in perpetuity – is sure to have injured the monarch even further.
King Charles must be fed up with Harry’s constant media briefing (Image: Getty)
Worse is the hypocrisy Harry’s UK-based relatives are sure to feel about the second-most ostracised member of their immediate family. For someone reportedly losing sleep over the risks posed to his loved ones, the prince has courted near-incessant attention over the last six years, including by making a number of incendiary claims about Charles, Camilla, William and Kate.
While boosting his public profile, Harry has bemoaned the pitfalls of his charmed life to multiple publications, telling the BBC that his family will “miss everything” unless they are granted taxpayer-funded UK protection. Apparently their £11million home in an exclusive Californian enclave is nothing more than a gilded cage.
If he truly wanted to bring his family back to Britain, reuniting his children with their grandfather and cousins and showing them where he grew up, he could plan a trip quietly, dodging all media coverage possible, instead of playing the momentum-building game that has preceded this month’s visit.
It amounts to treating King Charles, who is no doubt keen to see Archie, Lili and his son, as he advances in age and continues to recover from cancer, with contempt.
Charles is even understood to have offered the Sussexes accommodation at a royal residence, although they reportedly have yet to accept. The King also likely remains in the dark as to whether Harry will make the journey alone or not, as his cat-and-mouse game with the press continues, with just days to go until the trip.
As much as being in the Royal Family means being constantly in the public eye, other, more popular members of the Firm have proven it’s entirely possible to fly under the radar when needed.
The Princess of Wales managed to complete the Three Peaks Challenge in utter secrecy just this month, climbing the three tallest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in under 24 hours, and only revealing she had done so after the fact.
Harry and Meghan could learn a number of lessons from Princess Kate – but chief among them is knowing when to keep quiet if they want to pick and choose the parts of their lives that are public and the parts that are not.