He’s turning the big 4-0 next month, but rather than going all out for the milestone birthday, Prince Harry will quietly celebrate with wife Meghan Markle.
Sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have revealed that while Harry had hopes of letting loose with friends back home, Meghan, 43, has had other plans.
“Harry was very keen to go to the UK and party with his friends, and he still would if Meghan let him, but she’s saying absolutely not. For one thing, it's a bad look for their brand. They’re hoping to hang out with the crème of society, with the Hollywood and political elite, so the idea of him knocking shots and acting like a fool with his pals in Mykonos or wherever is just the worst possible idea,” an insider tells us.
“Harry hates to let his friends back in the UK down, he made a lot of promises to them and he knows they’re all looking forward to a big blow out. But it’s hard to justify that kind of wild party animal behaviour at this stage of his life. As much as he might want to turn back the clock, those days are done. He’s a married father of two now, he has to make his wife and kids the priority and Meghan just
isn’t going to be happy if he shirks his responsibilities to try and recapture the so-called good old days. And in reality, as fun as some of the memories might be, even he admits he really wasn’t the best version of himself back then. And on rop of that, it’s a security risk that he simply doesn’t need to take.”
Harry and Meghan, who are parents to son Prince Archie, five, and daughter Princess Lilibet, three, have made no secret of their security worries after stepping down as working royals and moving to the US in 2020.
Harry is currently locked in a dispute over his protection in the UK and launched a High Court lawsuit against the Home Office. While he lost his legal challenge, he’s been given the green light to appeal it.
Opening up about his concerns, he recently said that he will not bring Meghan back to the UK without state-funded personal security because he fears a “knife or acid” attack due to the attention they attract. "It's still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read," he said. "And whether it's a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It's one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country."
Meghan has also previously voiced fears over her safety. During their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, she revealed she pleaded with the royal family not to remove Harry’s security. She also claimed that while she was pregnant with Archie, she was told he should not be given the title of prince, meaning he would not receive a royal security detail.
“This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy, where I’m going, hold on a second... he needs to be safe,” Meghan explained. “We have created this monster machine (of clickbait and tabloids), you’ve allowed this to happen, which means we need to be safe. While I was pregnant, they wanted to change the convention, for Archie. Why? There’s no explanation.”
Meghan has not visited the UK since September 2022, when they travelled for a string of charity events. They then extended their trip following the death of the Queen and attended her funeral on September 19. Meanwhile, Harry has made a string of solo visits this year, most recently in May to celebrate 10 years of the Invictus Games.
Instead of jetting off again for his birthday, it’s thought that he will stay put in their Montecito home. “Meghan wants him to enjoy a nice party at the house in Montecito with their close friends, and if they’re lucky, maybe they’ll score an invite to Oprah’s for an afternoon tea,” our source explains. “She’s also fine if he wants to have a big night out in Hollywood at one of the private member’s clubs with a group of his mates, she’s not trying to totally put the kibosh on him having fun. But if he wants to go away to celebrate it should be with her, not on some naughty 40th like he’s a kid again with no responsibilities, that won’t fly with Meghan.”
However, the source adds Harry will still spend some quality time with his close pals, saying, “That’s not to say he doesn’t still want to do something to mark this milestone with all his friends. The talk now is that he’ll get a group of them to come to California for a big bash at the San Vicente Bungalows. There are no photos allowed inside and the entrance requirements are so tight, he can actually count on privacy there.”
They continue, “Meghan is very picky about what happens at the house, a dinner party or a garden party is more her speed so they may do a dinner at the house and then Harry and his group can head out to LA for a night of partying. Or they might opt for a dinner at Lucky’s steakhouse, their go-to hangout in Santa
Barbara. It will all depend on who’s willing to make the trip over to the States for Harry, that will be the deciding factor.
“Ultimately though, his image will have to be considered, and from Meghan’s point of view he’d be much better off celebrating with a curated list of their high-powered Montecito friends. Harry’s making a new life for himself, his dark party days are behind him and a lot of the people he used to surround himself with were undoubtably bad influences. Like most wives, she’d rather see him celebrate like an adult than try and relive the past, and odds are she’ll win out.”