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Are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle planning UK trip with Archie and Lilibet next month?

A special Invictus Games service is being held in London in May

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet
Ainhoa Barcelona
Content Managing Editor
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The Duke of Sussex is reportedly returning to the UK next month to attend a special service to mark the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games.

Harry, who founded the Paralympic-style sporting tournament in 2014, is due to speak at the event on Wednesday 8 May at St Paul's Cathedral in London. But will he be joined by his wife Meghan Markle and their two children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet?

Archie, who turns five on 6 May, and two-year-old Lili were last in the UK in June 2022 to celebrate the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee. It was also coincidentally Lili's first birthday, which the family spent in Windsor.

Baby Lilibet Diana on her first birthday
Lilibet celebrated her first birthday in Windsor

Meghan, meanwhile, last visited the UK in September 2022 to attend the late Queen's funeral.

It's not known whether the Sussexes will all fly from California to London next month for the Invictus Games event, but their spokesperson is likely to confirm their attendance nearer the time.

The Duchess may choose to stay at home with her two children as she has done on previous occasions. During King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation in May 2023, Meghan decided to stay in California and not pull Archie and Lili out of nursery and pre-school.

Harry travelled solo to London for the coronation, returning swiftly to California to celebrate Archie's fourth birthday. He also flew to the UK alone in February to have a private meeting with his father Charles after the King's cancer diagnosis was announced.

Archie in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's garden at their Montecito home© Netflix
Archie pictured in the family's garden at their Montecito home

Last December, Harry explained why he hasn't brought his children back to his home country frequently. 

In a written witness statement prepared for his legal challenge against the Home Office over a change to his security arrangements when visiting the UK, the Duke explained: "It was with great sadness for both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020.

"The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US. That cannot happen if it's not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil.

"I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too."

Hugh Grosvenor, Prince George's godfather, in a grey three-piece suit in the sunshine© Getty
Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster is getting married in June

If the Sussexes do not visit the UK in May, there's a chance they may plan a family trip in June for the Duke of Westminster's wedding. Harry is good friends with the groom Hugh Grosvenor, who is set to marry his fiancée Olivia Henson on 7 June at Chester Cathedral. 

Hugh is also the godfather of Prince Archie, so there's a chance the youngster has been asked to act as a pageboy, alongside his cousin Prince George, who is also Hugh's godson.

LISTEN: Inside Princess Kate's private lunch with King Charles before shock cancer announcement

Previous reports from last year claimed that Hugh had decided not to invite the Sussexes to his wedding to avoid a royal family clash, given Harry's poor relations with his brother William. 

However, now that it's looking unlikely that Princess Kate will definitely not be attending the society wedding due to her cancer treatment, and therefore William may also not attend or attend just with George, the door could be open again to the Sussexes. 

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