Prince Harry will not be joined by his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two children when he visits the UK next week, it is understood.

Meghan, Archie and Lilibet will not travel to London, as had originally been planned, after it was confirmed that the family would not be provided with taxpayer-funded police security.

It is still possible that they may join Prince Harry later in the week, when the five-day trip moves to Birmingham to promote the Invictus Games.

It is unclear whether a meeting between King Charles and his two grandchildren, aged seven and five – who he has not seen in person for four years – will take place under the revised schedule.

It had been thought London was the most likely location for any family reunion, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex accepted an offer to stay in a royal residence with their two children.

The King has a number of public engagements planned for next week. Buckingham Palace is making no comment on private family matters.

The change means Meghan will not join her husband on a visit to the Royal Hospital Chelsea for meetings related to the Invictus Games on Wednesday. Prince Harry will now attend alone.

Discussions are ongoing around the security elements for the later part of the visit but no final decision has been made, it is understood.

There had been reports that the later part of the trip would include a visit to Althorp in Northampton, the family estate of Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

It is understood there were plans for Prince Harry to take his wife and children to his mother’s private grave.

The visit moves from London to Birmingham on Thursday, when Prince Harry will visit the city’s children’s hospital to support the work of the charity WellChild, which he has continued to support since his move to the United States.

If Meghan does come to the UK later in the week, she is scheduled to join her husband at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre to mark the year-long countdown to the venue hosting the Invictus Games.

The decision to pull out of the London element of the visit follows uncertainty over whether the trip would go ahead.

Sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said the move was down to concerns from Prince Harry’s personal security team, which had spent several days reviewing the arrangements.

They also cite the lack of up-to-date assessment from the Royal and VIP Executive Committee’s (Ravec) Risk Management Board, which decides on security provision for senior royals and other high profile individuals for the UK government.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on protective security arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”

Prince Harry’s long-running dispute with the UK government over security stretches back to his decision to step back from his role as a senior royal in 2020 and move to the US with his family.

The prince has contested a decision by Ravec that because he was going to be an infrequent visitor to the UK, his security would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

He has previously said he would not bring his family to the country without improved security arrangements, telling the BBC in 2025 that he could not “see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point”.

Prince Harry and Meghan were last together in the UK in 2022, at the time of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

He has since travelled to the country alone, and met his father on a trip last September.