Buckingham Palace contradicted Prince Harry's spokesperson on Monday, saying the Duke of Sussex would not be staying at the royal residence during his five-day visit to the United Kingdom. The palace said Harry had missed a deadline to formally accept the offer of accommodation.
According to sources who spoke to CBS News, the palace made multiple requests for clarification on the accommodation offer but did not receive a formal response. The offer was formally declined on Saturday, then later accepted, but by that point the deadline had passed. Buckingham Palace requires minimum notice to host guests of Harry's standing.
Harry's spokesperson offered a different account. According to the BBC, the spokesperson said Buckingham Palace had withdrawn the offer after it had been formally accepted. "It is therefore unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment," the spokesperson said.
CBS News contacted Harry's representatives for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.
The visit was originally planned as Harry's first family trip back to Britain with his wife Meghan, son Archie, and daughter Lilibet in four years. A source close to the Duke told the AFP news agency that the family would not accompany him on the London leg of the trip after he was reportedly refused royal protection.
The trip is timed to mark the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games, set to be held in Birmingham. Harry founded the games for wounded veterans in 2014.
The visit will also coincide with a court judgment expected Tuesday in a lawsuit Harry and other celebrities brought against Associated Newspapers, owner of the Daily Mail, over alleged unlawful information gathering.
Harry has returned to the UK only briefly since he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to North America, with visits limited largely to charity engagements and legal proceedings.
