Meghan Markle could be making a dramatic return to the UK for the first time in four years, with plans to appear alongside Prince Harry at a major Invictus Games event in Birmingham this summer. The visit, however, depends entirely on whether the couple are granted enhanced security.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, is hoping to attend a one-year countdown celebration for the 2027 Invictus Games on July 10. If approved, the trip would mark her first appearance in Britain since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022.
Security remains the central issue. Prince Harry’s long-running fight to regain taxpayer-funded armed protection is currently under review by Ravec, a committee made up of police, royal and government officials.
A decision is expected later this month, and sources say Meghan will not travel unless the outcome is favourable.
Plans are said to be well advanced for the Birmingham event, which forms part of a summer programme of promotional activities for the Invictus Games, the sporting competition for wounded and injured veterans founded by Prince Harry.
Meghan has previously attended similar countdown ceremonies in Canada and Germany.
Prince Harry, 41, has repeatedly said he does not feel it is safe to bring his family to the UK without proper protection, The Sun reported.
His automatic right to armed guards was removed when he stepped back as a working royal in 2020 and moved to California. After losing a High Court challenge last year, he described the decision as an “establishment stitch-up”.
Despite this, sources close to the couple believe the Government may now approve enhanced security.
It is not yet known whether their children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, would join the visit.
They have not been in the UK since the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June 2022, when Meghan faced a mixed reception on arrival for a service at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Meghan has remained closely involved with the Invictus Games since stepping back from royal duties.
She joined Harry at promotional events in Vancouver and Whistler in early 2024, met competitors in training, and attended the Games the following year.
She was also present at a countdown event in Dusseldorf in 2022, shortly before the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and travelled with Harry to Nigeria in 2024 in support of the foundation.
In her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, the duchess admitted the strain of time away from her children, saying extended separations left her struggling emotionally.
