Meghan Markle to visit the UK for Invictus Games event

Rebecca Whittaker and Bryony Gooch, The Independent

The Duchess of Sussex is expected to make the first UK visit in four years for an Invictus Games event. Meghan is due to join her husband, the Duke of Sussex, at the event in Birmingham, but only if the couple’s right to armed police protection in the UK is reinstated, The Sun on Sunday reported. It is also not known if their children will attend the event.

In May last year, the Duke of Sussex lost his court case against the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec) over their decision to remove his right to taxpayer-funded police protection after he left as a working member of the royal family. This meant the duke needed to inform the Metropolitan Police 30 days before arriving in the UK in order to apply for a security review, which is decided on a case-by-case basis.

As a result, he and his lawyers argued it is not safe for Harry and his wife, Meghan, and their two young children, Lilibet and Archie, to visit the country after their 24-hour security was withdrawn in 2020. After losing his court case in May, the duke said he was “devastated”, describing the defeat as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up” and blamed the Royal Household for influencing the decision.

However, he filed a request to the home secretary for a full risk assessment to be carried out which was granted. Those close to the Duke of Sussex are hopeful that Ravec, which makes the final decision on the level of police protection, will agree to reinstate the protection, according to The Times. Promotional events for the Invictus Games Foundation will be held in Birmingham to mark a one-year countdown to the 2027 Games. Representatives of nations have been invited to take part.

Meghan previously attended the Invictus Games in Canada last year for five days. She also attended events in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada, in 2024 to promote the following years’ games, which were set up by Harry for wounded soldiers. She was also at the ceremony for the one-year countdown to the games in Dusseldorf, Germany in 2022. The duchess has not visited the UK for four years, when she attended Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022. Her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have also not visited the UK since June of that year for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebration.

The duke has been estranged from the Prince of Wales since making accusations against the King, his stepmother the Queen, brother the Prince of Wales and sister-in-law the Princess of Wales in his Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix documentary, interviews and his autobiography Spare since moving to the US. Harry previously expressed his hopes of reconciliation with his family amid his belief they may never forgive him after his public accusations. He also visited the UK last September and had a private meeting with his father in London, suggesting he was making a step towards improving family relationships.

Earlier, it was reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s chief communications officer has stepped down after less than a year in the job. Meredith Maines, who started working for the Sussexes in March 2025, is believed to be the eleventh publicist in five years to exit the role after the couple stepped back from their roles as working royals and relocated to California in 2020. A statement from Ms Maines read: “After a year of inspiring work with Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Archewell, I will be pursuing a new opportunity in 2026. I have the utmost gratitude and respect for the couple and the team, and the good they are doing in the world.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have also parted ways with Method Communications, a US-based PR firm, after they announced a partnership seven months ago with the organisation that brands itself as a company that “challenges the status quo”. A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: “Meredith Maines and Method Communications have concluded their work with Archewell. The Duke and Duchess are grateful for their contributions and wish them well.”