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(NewsNation) — Prince Harry will return to the United Kingdom next week to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games — the first time he has visited his homeland since a quickie trip back in February to visit his father after King Charles’ cancer diagnosis was made public (and it was a quickie — Harry was allotted 45 mins with the King before flying back home to Montecito).
But it will be a lonely trip. While Harry is expected to give a reading at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the anniversary of the games for wounded soldiers he founded, according to reports, no senior members of the royal family plan to attend. And King Charles, who has just returned to royal duties, has a “full schedule” and has not cleared his schedule for his wayward son.
Prince William and Princess Catherine will also not make time to see Harry. Catherine has been fighting her own cancer battle — and William has been doing the lion’s share of the royal duty work along with his stepmother Queen Camilla. (There is famously no love between the formerly close threesome after Harry panned them in his memoir “Spare” and Meghan claimed in several interviews Kate made her cry).
Harry will allegedly be staying at a hotel as no family member has offered him a place to stay and he no longer owns Frogmore Cottage.
Harry’s wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, are reportedly not making the trip.
The couple are reportedly still smarting over losing their state-sponsored protective duty in February and claim they don’t feel safe in the UK.
But insiders scoff at that excuse.
“Meghan is very unpopular in the UK and she would likely be booed,” one source said. (Markle has a net approval rating in the UK of a mere +1).
But it’s also about money.
While Harry and Meghan shell out millions on private security in the U.S., they don’t want to have to pay for it in the UK where, when they were working royals, it used to be free (to be fair, no one likes to pay for something they used to get for free).
Ironically, although fearing for her safety in England, Meghan allegedly will join her husband on the second leg of his Invictus journey in Nigeria.
Nigeria currently has a Level 3 “Do Not Travel” security warning against it by the Department of State, noting, “Violent crime — such as armed robbery, assault, carjacking, kidnapping, hostage taking, roadside banditry, and rape — is common throughout the country. Kidnappings for ransom occur frequently, often targeting dual-national citizens who have returned to Nigeria for a visit, as well as U.S. citizens with perceived wealth. Kidnapping gangs have also stopped victims on interstate roads.”
In addition, the State Department adds: “Terrorists continue plotting and carrying out attacks in Nigeria. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting shopping centers, malls, markets, hotels, places of worship, restaurants, bars, schools, government installations, transportation hubs, and other places where crowds gather. Terrorists are known to work with local gangs to expand their reach.”
So why go?
According to Tracy Walder, NewsNation national security contributor and a former CIA officer and FBI special agent, told me, “My guess is, the Nigerian government is providing them with free security whereas the UK, will make them pay for their own. It’s just that simple. They don’t want to have to pay for security. Other than threats of terrorist attacks (we have one in place too), the UK has no advisory designations by the State Department… it just comes down to them not wanting to pay.”
Side note: As for Harry’s recent change of residency to the United States, accountant Evan Bell said the reason was simple.
“It’s about immigration, visa and ease of entry, that’s it,” Bell said. “If he claims residency they can travel back and forth (in and out of the United States) without visa issues.”
Ironically enough, Harry would have had a better tax rate in the UK if he had stayed put.
“The tax rate in the UK is 45%,” Bell explained. “In the States it is 37%, but California has very high state tax so really, he’s paying 50%.”
