A dispute arose between Buckingham Palace and Prince Harry's team regarding his stay at the palace
Kyiv • UNN
Buckingham Palace withdrew the offer of accommodation to Prince Harry due to an unconfirmed response. The Duke's team called this decision disappointing.
Buckingham Palace says Prince Harry will not stay at the palace during his visit to London this week, despite his team announcing this morning that he had accepted an invitation, reports UNN citing the BBC.
Details
Royal family sources said the Duke did not respond in time to the offer of accommodation at the royal residence, and that Prince Harry was told on Saturday evening that he would not be able to stay at Buckingham Palace.
This, the publication notes, is a chaotic start to a week during which the Duke of Sussex will support his charitable organizations in the UK.
A spokesman for Prince Harry said that, despite their previous statement, they understand that the offer to stay at the palace has been "withdrawn" – a decision they called "disappointing."
According to Buckingham Palace's version of events, Prince Harry was offered accommodation, but the Sussex team did not confirm whether he would accept it, and then officially declined the invitation on Saturday.
According to Buckingham Palace, the Duke's team later changed their position that same day and accepted the offer to stay, but by then it was too late to take action and arrange staffing.
The Palace said Prince Harry was told on Saturday evening that he could not stay, and that he is aware of this decision.
The Palace also expressed concerns about the Duke's stay, given that the results of the court proceedings regarding his lawsuits against Associated Newspapers were due to be published on Tuesday.
There were concerns about how the King, who maintains a position of neutrality, would appear if Prince Harry gave a controversial response to the high-profile court case while staying at the symbolic headquarters of the monarchy.
In response, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex described the situation differently, stating that Buckingham Palace withdrew an offer that had been formally accepted.
"It appears it was only about staying for one night, and the question was raised whether the palace could accommodate one person for one night?" the publication reads.
The Sussexes' version of events, it is noted, indicates that the timing of the court ruling announcements was already known last week, and dismissed this as a factor.
"Therefore, it is unclear why, having formally accepted the accommodation offer, it has now been withdrawn at the last moment," said the spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex.
"This bitter war of words is a dispute that shows how much distrust and poor communication exists between the two camps – the Sussex team and Buckingham Palace," the publication notes.
Both sides, as noted, are publishing conflicting versions of the invitation to stay at the palace – with no indication that either side will accept the other's version.
"This could further complicate the meeting between King Charles and Prince Harry, which was expected this week," the publication said.
Prince Harry still intends to fulfill his commitments this week, and is expected to be in the UK on Monday, ahead of his first event in London on Tuesday.