Prince Harry said earlier this year he wouldn't be returning to the UK anytime soon, due to a lack of security detail for him and his family, and he apparently meant it—even if it means he'll miss his grandfather's memorial service. Per People, a spokesman for the prince, who now lives in California with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, said Friday that Harry, 37, won't be attending the March 29 event at Westminster Abbey in London for Prince Philip, who died April 9 of last year at the age of 99. Harry did attend Philip's funeral last April, which allowed only 30 guests due to COVID restrictions. The Duke of Sussex's rep added that Harry hopes to get back to the UK as soon as possible to visit with his grandmother, 95-year-old Queen Elizabeth II.
Today notes that Harry last visited the UK in July of last year, when he and his brother, Prince William, unveiled a statue of their mother, Princess Diana, to mark her 60th birthday. France 24 reports some aren't pleased with the prince's decision to skip his grandfather's service, with the Sun tabloid deeming it Harry's "Phil snub." Royal biographer Angela Levin goes a step further, calling Harry's skipping of the service "blackmail" after his royal protection detail was pulled. The prince "has snubbed the Duke of Edinburgh ... but really he is snubbing the queen," Levin sniffed. Some want to know why the prince won't go to England but will head to the Netherlands in April for the Invictus Games he founded. Chris Ship, the royal editor for ITV News, tweets that Harry has "concluded he isn't safe in UK without the access to intelligence he has asked for." (More Prince Harry stories.)
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