Prince Charles invites Prince Harry and family to stay in the hope of meeting Lilibet for first time
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Prince Charles has invited Prince Harry and his family to stay with him in the UK in the hope of meeting Lilibet for the first time, it emerged tonight.
The Prince of Wales is yet to see his granddaughter face-to-face, after she was born in California in June last year.
The offer, which would be the first time the family have fully come together since Harry and Meghan decided to quit as working royals, was made just before Christmas, according to the Mirror.
However, his son’s refusal to return without a substantial level of security from the Met Police is said to have put the reunion in doubt.
In recent months, the family have communicated via a series of ‘good natured’ calls, sources told the paper.
The first picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter Lilibet was released in a Christmas card last month
The Prince of Wales (centre), during his visit to Haddo Country Park, Ellon, Aberdeenshire last week
What it really costs to guard Sussexes The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s security team in Canada was made up of at least six £60,000-a-year Scotland Yard protection officers. But experts say the true cost of each officer would have been closer to £100,000 a year when taking into consideration overtime, flights back and forth to the UK, pension contributions and living expenses. The couple spent more than three months in Canada before moving to California in March 2020 when they are reported to have hired top-of-the-range security firm Gavin de Becker and Associates (GDBA), used by A-listers including Jeff Bezos, Tom Hanks and Madonna. The team from GDBA – described as a ‘secret service for famous people’ – is rumoured to cost about £7,000 per day, or £2.5million a year. Harry and Meghan are likely to have been provided a team of six bodyguards, which could include former intelligence officers from the FBI and CIA, who work in rotation, with four on duty by day and two at night. The couple’s American security would have no jurisdiction in the UK or access to intelligence information. Advertisement
One said: ‘The Prince of Wales has been saddened that he hasn’t had the opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren, which he really does miss.
‘He is a fantastic grandfather and loves playing the role immensely and it’s certainly fair to say he feels there is something missing from his life without the ability to get to know Harry’s children.
‘This is something he is hoping to remedy which is why he made the gesture for Harry, Meghan and the children to stay with him if they wanted to, whenever they may come home for a period of time.’
It comes as a former head of royal protection warned today that Prince Harry ‘cannot pick and choose’ when he wants to visit the UK and receive protection.
The Duke of Sussex should not be expecting bodyguards supplied to him when he decides to return home, Dai Davies said.
The ex-Met Police officer pointed out Princess Anne was nearly kidnapped and her protection officer was shot - but she does not get full time protection.
His comments came as sources suggested the Queen will not help her grandson in his demand for security personnel when he comes to Britain.
The insiders claimed the Monarch has no intentions of ‘caving into his demands’ for protection from the Met and Home Office.
Prince Harry faced outrage yesterday over his threat of legal action against Her Majesty’s Government.
He is seeking a judicial review of the decision to strip him of his UK police protection team, claiming it is too dangerous to visit without Scotland Yard bodyguards.
Last night there was anger at the unprecedented legal threat against the government as sources hit back saying: ‘Scotland Yard is not available for hire’.
Mr Davies, who was Operational Unit Commander for the Royals from 1995, told GMB: ‘He chose to go to America, that’s his prerogative.
‘And it’s our prerogative to ensure when we look at any aspect of protection, any member of the Royal Family that we actually look and assess it through various security agencies. That’s the crux.
‘And it’s been decided in this level, one they won’t supply him with protection because the risk at this stage is deemed low.
‘However should there be a risk when he comes then clearly the Metropolitan Police would be duty bound.’
Prince Harry ‘is a celebrity in the USA now’ - ‘much more confident’ with his ‘alter-ego’
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Prince Harry, 37, and Meghan Markle , 40, married nearly four years ago on May 19, 2018. By March 2020, the couple had stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family and moved to the United States of America . Meghan was already a celebrity in that part of the world as she was an actress on Suits, a cable-network television show, for roughly seven years.
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Prince Harry, however, was born into the Royal Family and is now living like a celebrity in Montecito.
Recent revelations came out over the weekend that Harry would still like to have police protection and security when he returns to the UK.
In light of this, royal commentators have discussed whether Harry is worthy of such protection as a newly found celebrity, as opposed to a working royal.
One such royal commentator, Russell Myers, appeared on Lorraine on January 17 to discuss the news that Harry still wanted to have security.
READ MORE: Kate and Meghan’s jewellery reflects different ‘upbringing’
Prince Harry reveals the Queen may never meet baby Lilibet as it’s too dangerous
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Prince Harry has revealed why the Queen may never meet baby Lilibet Diana ahead of her Platinum Jubilee.
The Queen is yet to meet great-granddaughter Lilibet Diana but it looks like she might never get the chance after Prince Harry announced it’s not safe for him to bring his children to the UK without hiring private protection.
The Duke of Sussex’s legal team shared a statement to announce that Harry is pleading with the Home Office to be allowed to fund his own UK security with access to necessary intelligence information and jurisdiction.
.This royal news comes after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were hit with ban that could scupper plans to sell their £11m LA mansion.
The Queen might never get the chance to meet Lilibet Diana and it’s all down to whether Prince Harry will be allowed to pay for his own personal police protection.
The Duke of Sussex has released a statement detailing his bid to challenge a decision not allowing him to fund his own police protection after the Home Office rejected his request.
As a result, he has applied for a judicial review against the decision.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle stepped back from the royal family in March 2020 and since then they have set up a new life for themselves and their children, Archie and Lilibet Diana living in LA. But as a result, Harry and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection after quitting their royal roles and have funded their own security in the US ever since.
But ahead of Prince Harry’s planned return visit to the UK this year with his wife and children to attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, the Duke of Sussex has claimed that his own private security is not enough to allay his fears for their safety and privacy.
It means that Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet may never be able to return to the UK if the request to fund appropriate security is denied.
His concerns come after he returned to the UK to open the memorial statue to his late mother Princess Diana alongside his brother Prince William. A security incident took place in London in July 2021 during which Harry’s car was chased by photographers as he left a charity event.
A legal representative for Prince Harry said the legal claim was filed in September “to challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hopes that this could be re-evaluated for the obvious and necessary protection required”.
Prince Harry is not asking for the taxpayer to fund this but is merely arguing that his private security team cannot replicate the work of police protection in the UK, with their access to local intelligence and legal jurisdiction.
His statement read, “Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life.
“He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.”
His legal representative said he offered to pay the costs of police protection in January 2020 at Sandringham, when talks with the Queen were being held over the Sussexes’ future role. But the offer was dismissed, the representative said.
“The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in. With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk,” the statement added.
But it’s understood that the Queen will not help her grandson get the protection he wants.
A royal source told The Sun, “This is not a matter for Her Majesty. She certainly won’t cave in to his demands.
“It is a matter for Her Majesty’s government. Who gets protection is not a gift the Queen can decide to give or take away.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Called ‘Celebrity Clowns’ for Number of Bathrooms They Use in Drought-Stricken California
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One of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s many causes is battling climate change. But they’ve come under fire in the past for traveling by private jets right after speaking about how everyone should do their part to reduce their carbon footprint.
Well now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are being criticized again but not for their regular use of private planes but for how many bathrooms they have in their California mansion while the state is dealing with a drought and enforcing water restrictions.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend a naming and unveiling ceremony for the new Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft | Dominic Lipinski – Pool/Getty Images
Meghan and Harry’s mansion is nicknamed ‘The Chateau’
The property Meghan and Harry purchased in the summer of 2020 is nicknamed “The Chateau.” It’s located in Santa Barbara County’s Montecito section. Some of their famous neighbors include Gwyneth Paltrow, Meg Ryan, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, and Oprah Winfrey.
The Sussexes’ mansion is 18,000 square feet and sits on five acres of land. It boasts a library, a sauna, a wine cellar, a game room, a gym, tennis courts, and an arcade. The home has nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, and that fact has one commentator calling them out because of what the couple has said about climate change.
The Sussexes branded ‘celebrity clowns’ because of how many bathrooms they have
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend an event together in New Zealand | Dominic Lipinski – Pool/Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan were labeled “clowns” in a piece written by Shane Watson for The Telegraph about celebrities downsizing from mansions.
“The easiest way to spot a celebrity clown or at least one of the ways, is they live in a 16-bathroom house, and there are two of them and two under five (see the Sussexes),” she wrote. “As you know — but let’s put it out there one more time because it never ceases to make us boggle — Harry and Meghan’s Montecito residence has seven more bathrooms than it has bedrooms. That is nine en-suites, plus another strategically placed seven conveniences. It always was an insane number of bathrooms but now California is in the middle of a drought, water restrictions are in place, and the madness of this sort of empty-room living is looking more clownish than ever.”
Watson added: “Let’s just pause to think about those redundant rooms for a moment. At a guess, no more than four bathrooms are in regular use, and that’s including the nanny’s.”
Harry was previously attacked for the same thing after giving a speech about saving water
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle headed to the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup | Karwai Tang/WireImage
This isn’t the first time the pair has been called for having so many bathrooms. When Prince Harry spoke at the launch of the streaming platform WaterBear he said: “Every single raindrop that falls from the sky relieves the parched ground. What if every single one of us was a raindrop, and if every single one of us cared? At the end of the day, nature is our life source … But you can’t uplift, educate, and inspire unless there is a form of action that follows. For me, it’s putting in the dos behind the says. There’s a lot of people that say, but this is about action.”
After his comments, journalist Piers Morgan criticized the Duke of Sussex by calculating just how much water the prince and his wife’s 16 bathrooms use.
“Each bath, I just calculated this, each bath uses 4.5 million drops of water,” Morgan said (per The Express). “Their 16 bathrooms, if they’re used every day, would use 72 million drops of water a day.”
Morgan continued: “So when Prince Harry says what if every single one of us was a raindrop, well you’re currently using 72 million drops of water every day. What about taking some of that and putting that on, what does he call it, the parched ground? I don’t mind being a raindrop if it makes you feel better, I’ll be a raindrop. I would just take the raindrop lectures better if they didn’t come from somebody who uses private planes like a taxi service.”
RELATED: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Attacked Again for Flying All Over in Private Jets
Prince Harry Could Delay the Release of His Memoir After Prince Charles Extended an “Olive Branch” in ‘Newsweek’ Essay, Expert Says
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By many accounts, Prince Harry hasn’t been on the best terms with his U.K.-based family members since he and Meghan Markle traded royal life for sunny California. His relationship with Prince Charles seems to have suffered significantly from the move, and from the Sussexes’ decision to give Oprah Winfrey an exclusive interview in March 2021.
However, after the Prince of Wales made the meaningful choice to mention his youngest son in his recent essay on climate change for Newsweek, the father-son relationship could be on its way to some amount of repair—at least that’s what royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams believes.
“The fact that Charles has done this in Newsweek, which has a large circulation in America, I think it’s clearly a form of an olive branch in the hope that there will be a form of reconciliation,” Fitzwilliams tells The Sun.
“I think if you offer an olive branch it’s only reasonable to expect something in return,” the expert explains, adding that Prince Harry delaying the release of his memoir might represent a fair exchange in this instance. “I would have thought that some form of postponement of the autobiography would be considered.
“Otherwise everything that is said to Meghan and Harry when they come over for the Platinum Jubilee—which I’m sure they will—could conceivably find its way into the book.”
The royals have been reportedly pretty damn nervous (“quaking in their boots,” as one expert put it) about Prince Harry’s impending memoir, which is widely expected to be critical of Prince Charles especially. The book’s release date, currently set for late 2022, has also been seen as “disrespectful” because of its proximity to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which will celebrate her 70 years of reign.
“The Royal family need to know the pressure is being taken off them when it comes to this autobiography,” Fitzwilliams continues. “This is a way of handling it.”