Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are preparing for what would be their first family visit to the United Kingdom in four years. Emerging details about their accommodations have sparked considerable speculation about where they may choose to stay during their time in Britain.The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to arrive in the U.K. in July with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. The trip has been in development for some time, as Harry is scheduled to participate in events marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham, which will take place July 10–17, 2027.
Althorp House and Princess Diana’s ancestral estate
Attention has focused on Althorp House, the ancestral estate of the Spencer family located in West Northamptonshire, approximately an hour’s drive from Birmingham. The property’s official website indicates that it will be closed to the general public on July 10 and 11. This detail has prompted widespread speculation among royal observers and media outlets about whether Prince Harry and his family might visit or potentially stay at the historic home during their scheduled trip.The estate holds profound significance for the family beyond its historical and architectural importance. Princess Diana, the late mother of Prince Harry, is buried within the grounds of Althorp Park, specifically on an island located at the centre of an ornamental lake known as The Round Oval within the estate’s Pleasure Garden. This private location ensures that the burial site remains shielded from public view even though the broader estate welcomes visitors during the regular season.The timing of their visit carries additional symbolic weight. The family’s arrival in July will fall shortly after Princess Diana’s birthday on July 1, a date that has held deep meaning for Harry throughout his life. Additionally, Princess Lilibet’s middle name honours her late grandmother, further underscoring the personal significance of any potential visit to Althorp.
Prince Harry’s previous stays at Althorp House
Harry has a history of staying at Althorp during visits to Britain. The property is owned by his uncle, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer. Most recently, Prince Harry utilised the estate as accommodation in August 2024 when he returned to the U.K. for the funeral of Lord Robert Fellowes, a figure who held significant meaning in his life and family history.
King Charles III’s offer of royal accommodation
Meanwhile, sources indicate that King Charles III, 77, has extended an offer to his younger son Prince Harry and his family to stay at one of the royal estates during their potential visit. However, according to the report, no formal response to this offer has been received from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at this time.This represents a continuation of the King’s previous hospitality gestures. On earlier occasions, Prince Harry was offered accommodation at Buckingham Palace, though he declined those invitations. The offers were repeated, indicating that King Charles was trying to make the visit easier and showing a willingness to help his son return to Britain.
The security question remains unresolved for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
One of the challenges in planning the visit is the issue of security. Although the King, Charles III, can provide a place to stay on royal lands, the Home Office, not the monarchy, is responsible for deciding on the level of protective security. No extra security detail has been provided for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s visit.The Duke of Sussex, who has been without taxpayer-funded police protection since he and Meghan departed their formal royal roles in 2020, continues to dispute this arrangement. His close family have repeatedly asserted their right to safety in the United Kingdom and have brought lawsuits against the royal family over this, citing reasons for concern.In his December 2023 High Court statement Prince Harry explained his views on the significance of the U.K. to his family’s identity and wellbeing. “The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States,” he said. “That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”He further emphasised the broader implications of the security situation. “I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too,” he added. The security question has become a persistent obstacle to the family’s comfort and willingness to visit Britain.
Prince Harry and King Charles III’s previous reunion
Despite ongoing tensions within the broader royal family, Prince Harry and his father have managed to meet during recent visits to Britain. Most recently, they reunited at King Charles’s London residence on September 10, 2025 while Harry was in the country for the Well Child Awards and Invictus Games-related events. Their private meeting lasted 55 minutes and represented their first face-to-face conversation in 19 months.That meeting, though brief, appeared to signal a modest warming of relations between the two men. However, no plans for a similar reunion during the upcoming July visit have been confirmed.
Meghan Markle is expected to join Prince Harry and their children during the reported UK trip, which could include a meaningful visit connected to Princess Diana’s legacy.image credit: (Meghan Markle instagram)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Previous visits to Althorp and Princess Diana’s gravesite
The last time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle brought their children to Britain was in June 2022 for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, though Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet did not participate in public events. The couple extended their stay following the Queen’s death in September of that year to attend her funeral and related ceremonies.In his 2023 memoir ‘Spare’ Prince Harry provided a deeply personal account of bringing Meghan Markle to visit his mother’s gravesite for the first time in 2022 describing the emotional and spiritual significance of that moment for both of them.“No visit to this place was ever easy, but this one… twenty-fifth anniversary. And Meg’s first time. At long last, I was bringing the girl of my dreams home to meet mum,” Harry wrote about rowing his wife out to the memorial site. “We hesitated, hugging, and then I went first. I placed flowers on the grave. Meg gave me a moment, and I spoke to my mother in my head, told her I missed her, asked her for guidance and clarity.”Harry continued his account with particular attention to Meghan’s own moment at the gravesite. “Feeling that Meg might also want a moment, I went around the hedge, scanned the pond. When I came back, Meg was kneeling, eyes shut, palms against the stone.”Upon returning to the boat, Harry asked his wife what had occupied her thoughts during that private moment. “I asked, as we walked back to the boat, what she’d prayed for. Clarity, she said. And guidance.”His reflections on that visit suggest that any return to Althorp during their July trip would carry considerable meaning for the entire family. The upcoming visit represents a continued effort by Prince Harry to maintain and strengthen connections to his homeland, despite the complications that continue to surround such visits.