Prince Harry was going to be allowed to stay at Buckingham Palace during his upcoming visit, according to new claims, but the Duke of Sussex is understood to have rejected the offer.
The father-of-two is travelling to London for the High Court trial against News Group Newspapers (NGN) later this month.
King Charles’s younger son is “one of two claimants” suing the publisher of the Sun over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
NGN has denied all allegations of phone hacking, and settled many cases without admitting liability.
Prince Harry ‘rejects’ Buckingham Palace offer as part of Duke of Sussex’s ‘protest’
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During his last trip to the UK Prince Harry stayed in Althorp House, the home of his maternal uncle, Earl Charles Spencer.
This is because the duke no longer has access to Frogmore Cottage, his and Meghan Markle’s former UK home, as the couple were evicted from the property in 2023.
The Mirror has reported that Prince Harry, 40, turned down the chance to stay at Buckingham Palace, despite it being offered.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams previously predicted the Duke of Sussex would “protest” a Buckingham Palace offer in an exclusive interview with GB News.
The Duke of Sussex is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) at the High Court in LondonPAHe said: “We do know that Buckingham Palace was offered for the last visit and rejected in favour of a hotel.
“Now, that’s never been explained. I don’t understand. It’s obviously part of a protest.”
A royal insider continued to tell the Mirror: “[Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley] is offering Harry limited police protection.
“The Met has been trying to recruit officers on their days off because they don’t have a lot of spare staff.”
Prince Harry is understood to have rejected an offer to stay at Buckingham Palace
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Harry’s civil case against NGN was originally expected to go to trial in 2024PA
The duke lost his automatic right to police protection in 2020 after stepping down as a senior member of the Royal Family.
The 40-year-old’s security is now decided on a case-by-case basis by the Metropolitan Police.
After a long legal challenge, Prince Harry lost his battle in February last year to acquire automatic police protection when in the UK.
However, in June 2024, the duke was given the green light to appeal the case.