Harry and Meghan to touch down in UK for first time since jubilee
The couple will also visit Germany for an Invictus Games countdown event
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are back in the UK this week for the first time since returning for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will appear at events in London and Manchester, as well as jetting off to Germany to mark the one year countdown to the Invictus Games.
It is not know if the couple will visit the Queen in Balmoral, but it is thought unlikely they will bring their children Archie and Lili on the working trip.
They will head to Manchester on Monday for the One Young World summit, an event which brings together young leaders from more than 190 countries.
Meghan, a counsellor for the organisation, will give the keynote address at the opening ceremony.
They will also meet a group of summit delegates doing “outstanding work on gender equality”, One Young World said.
The couple will then head to Germany for the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023 One Year to Go event, which is taking place on Tuesday, before returning to the UK for the WellChild Awards in London where Harry will deliver a speech on Thursday.
Their visit to the UK will be the first time they have been back in the country since the Jubilee celebrations in early June, when they attended the service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral.
It comes just days after Meghan’s wide-ranging interview with The Cut in which she said it takes “a lot of effort” to forgive and hinted that she can “say anything”.
In the interview, running to more than 6,000 words, Meghan said that “just by existing” she and Harry were “upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy” before they stepped down as senior working royals.
Harry and Meghan’s trip falls in the same week the new prime minister is due to be announced and asked to form a government by the Queen.
The monarch will appoint a new prime minister at Balmoral for the first time in her reign.
The 96-year-old, who has faced ongoing mobility issues, traditionally holds audiences with outgoing and incoming premiers at Buckingham Palace.
But Boris Johnson, who will tender his resignation, and the new Conservative Party leader who will be asked to form a government – either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – will travel to Balmoral Castle for the key audiences on Tuesday.
Security will be at the forefront of Harry’s mind as he travels from his home in California for the high profile appearances.
The duke, who quit as a senior working royal in 2020, is bringing legal action over a decision not to allow him to pay for police protection for himself and his family when in the UK.
This summer he won a bid to bring a High Court claim against the Home Office.
His challenge concerns the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) over his security, after being told he would no longer be given the “same degree” of personal protective security when visiting.
The royal family has been bracing itself for Harry’s forthcoming tell-all book, which he has vowed will be an “accurate and wholly truthful” account of his life.
The memoirs were expected to be published in late 2022 by Penguin Random House but a release date has yet to be confirmed.
There will be concern in royal quarters that the duke will delve into his rift with his brother, the Duke of Cambridge, his troubled relationship with his father, the Prince of Wales, his view of stepmother the Duchess of Cornwall and the turbulent fallout of Megxit.
Harry and Meghan accused the royal family of racism in their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview last year, saying an unnamed royal made a racist remark about their son Archie before he was born, and that the institution failed to help a suicidal Meghan.
Although not confirmed, it is thought unlikely the couple will bring Archie and Lili on the working trip.
The youngsters travelled with their parents to the UK for the platinum jubilee and Lili celebrated her first birthday at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but Archie and his younger sister did not attend any public events.
Harry and Meghan kept out of the limelight for the majority of the weekend, with the Queen deciding only working royals should grace the Buckingham Palace balcony during the historic festivities.
The Sussexes renewed their lease on Frogmore Cottage earlier this year.
If Harry and Meghan stay at their UK base, they will be just minutes away from the Cambridges, who are due to have relocated to their new home, Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate.
The location of the Cambridges’ new home raises the chances of a private meeting between Harry, Meghan, William and Kate, despite their troubled history.