Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not be returning to the U.K. for Prince Philip’s upcoming memorial service, due to apparent security concerns.
“The Duke will not be returning to the UK in late March, but hopes to visit his grandmother as soon as possible,” a spokesperson for the pair told Page Six.
The Daily Mail reported that Harry’s lawyers said the prince “claimed he ‘does not feel safe’ coming from across the Atlantic under the current security arrangements after he was told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protection when visiting from the US, despite offering to pay for it himself.”
Harry, however, “could feasibly travel back to the UK as the memorial will be covered by government security,” Page Six noted.
Royal biographer Angela Levin slammed Harry for acting like a “child” not getting his way and hurting his grandmother in the process, The Daily Mail reported:
Levin has slammed the Duke as a ‘child stamping his feet’ over the decision and said the move was tantamount to ‘blackmail’, warning the Duke could use dropping out of major events at the last minute as leverage to secure personal protective security in the UK.
Levin warned that although Harry ‘has snubbed the Duke of Edinburgh but really he is snubbing the Queen’ who is still ‘grieving the loss of her husband of 73 years’ – and was only given 15 minutes advance notice of Harry’s announcement on Friday evening.
“He has got this all wrong. If he comes over for a royal event he gets police protection. What they won’t do is, if he goes out with his friends he gets security,” Levin said. “He’ll probably use this same excuse to try to get out of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
“It’s all about ‘me, me, me’ rather than going out of his way for his grandmother and showing her he cares. He’s behaving like a child stamping his feet,” she mocked Harry.
The ex-royals have made shocking headlines since they’ve become an item. In 2021, Harry revealed that Meghan told him she was going to commit suicide but stopped herself because she didn’t want her husband to lose “another woman” in his life, referencing Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana.
The comment exploded online as many highlighted Meghan’s seeming manipulation, especially when viewing the revelation in light of Harry’s near-complete estrangement from his family since coupling up with Meghan.
“This comment will change a lot of minds on Meghan. It is deranged language that hints at emotional abuse and manipulation,” Charlie Peters blasted.
“Took him away from his family, isolated him from work and friends, and topped it off by claiming that his sadness is the only thing that prevented her suicide. Deeply toxic,” he added. “Come back to us, son of England. All will be forgiven. We miss the old Harry and would cheer his return.”
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free hotline for individuals in crisis or distress or for those looking to help someone else. It is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255.