Lord Fellowes, who passed away at the age of 82 on July 29, 2024, was married to Jane Fellowes, Prince Harry’s aunt and the sister of Diana, Princess of Wales. He also served as a press secretary to the late Queen Elizabeth II for 13 years.
A private funeral will be held, but since stepping back from their roles as senior working royals in 2020, Harry and Meghan have made only a few visits to the UK.
This is partly due to the fact that Harry no longer receives the same level of police protection as other members of the royal family and must now make security arrangements on a case-by-case basis. Under current regulations, he is required to notify authorities of any travel plans to the UK at least 28 days in advance.
It is uncertain whether the Prince and Princess of Wales or the King will attend the funeral.
Harry previously took legal action against the Home Office over a February 2020 decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) to provide him with a reduced level of taxpayer-funded protection while in the UK. In February, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled against Harry, finding Ravec’s decision to be neither irrational nor procedurally unfair.
However, reports in June indicated that Harry has been given permission to challenge Sir Peter’s ruling at the Court of Appeal, following an order by Lord Justice Bean dated May 23. At a hearing last December, Harry’s legal team presented an emotional written statement explaining why he and Meghan felt compelled to relocate to the US after stepping back from their royal duties.
Harry wrote: “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.”
Harry maintained last month it was “still dangerous” for Meghan to return to the UK.
In the ITV documentary Tabloids On Trial, the Duke said: “All it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read 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.
