Prince Harry wants to ‘protect’ Queen and ensure ‘right people’ are around her

The Duke of Sussex has said he wants to ensure that his grandmother, the Queen, is “protected” and has the “right people around her”, adding that he does not yet know if he will return to the UK to celebrate her platinum jubilee because of “security issues and everything else”.

During an interview with US network NBC’s Today Show , Prince Harry, who met the Queen for tea last week, did not elaborate on whether he was referring to palace aides or the royal family.

Harry and Meghan have reportedly been invited to join the Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony for celebrations during the jubilee bank holiday in June.

But the duke, who is embroiled in legal action with the Home Office over security for him and his family while in the UK, said he was unsure if he, Meghan, and their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, 10 months, would attend.

He told the Today Show host, Hoda Kotb: “I don’t know yet, there’s lots of things – security issues and everything else. So this is what I’m trying to do, trying to make it possible that, you know, I can get my kids to meet her,” he said.

Speaking about his meeting with his grandmother, Harry said she was “on great form”.

Harry and Meghan also met the Prince of Wales, having arrived from their home in the US before travelling to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games, which the duke founded and is now a private patron of.

Harry said of the Queen: “She’s always got a great sense of humour with me and I’m just making sure that she’s protected and got the right people around her.

“Both Meghan and I had tea with her, so it was really nice to catch up with her.”

Asked to name the best thing about his grandmother, Harry replied: “Her sense of humour and her ability to see humour in so many different silly things. We have a really special relationship, we talk about things that she can’t talk about with anybody else.”

He added: “But I think after a certain age you get bored of birthdays.”

When questioned whether she would be bored of her platinum jubilee he replied with a laugh: “No, I don’t think so. She’s had a few jubilees now. Everyone is slightly different but I’m sure she’s looking forward to it.”

The duke added that although he enjoyed visiting the UK and seeing his grandmother, his home remained in the US.

“Home for me now, for the time being, is in the States and it feels that way,” he said “We’ve been welcomed with open arms and have such a great community up in Santa Barbara.”

The couple moved to California after their decision to step down as senior royals in 2020, saying that they wanted a new life of personal and financial freedom. The duke’s visit to the UK is his third since March 2020.

During the interview, Harry said he felt his late mother’s “presence” in everything he did, and talked to his son, Archie, about “Grandma Diana”. But he appeared to avoid questions about his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William. Asked if he missed them, he replied that he was focused on those involved in the Invictus Games.

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“That’s my focus here. And when I leave here, I get back and my focus is on my family, who I miss massively,” he said, referring to Archie and Lilibet.

The Queen, who celebrates her 96th birthday on Thursday, has had to pull out of several events, including a church service on Easter Sunday, owing to mobility problems.

The Invictus Games, which concludes on Friday, involves 500 injured or unwell military personnel and veterans from across 20 nations who compete in a week of adaptive sports.

Harry is taking legal action against the government over his police protection in the UK.

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