Prince Harry’s demand for taxpayer-funded police protection is being ‘reviewed’ now he is back in Britain, it emerged tonight.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to have been informed that ‘a decision’ was made at a meeting last week to examine the threat to both of them.
The prince has been at loggerheads with the Home Office for years over its decision to remove his automatic right to security. Harry has long argued that he was born a prince and needs police protection when in the UK.
But he lost a series of legal battles against the Home Office which deemed he had forfeited the right to be able to call at will on taxpayer-funded protection after he quit as a frontline royal in 2020 and moved to a new life in sunny California.
Only last year, after yet another defeat at the Royal Courts of Justice – against his father His Majesty’s government – the prince declared in a petulant BBC interview that he could not imagine a time when he could safely bring his family to his country of birth.
But now that he has had a sudden change of heart, bringing Meghan, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to live in the UK, his access to police protection is being reviewed, it was reported tonight.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, posts a video of herself, Harry and children in the UK to her Instagram
Another image from the video which Meghan posted about her family’s return to living in the UK
Meghan and Harry pictured in 2022. Questions are now raging over who will fund security for the couple and their children
The decision is said to involve reviewing the risks to Prince Harry and also to his wife.
ITV News said the Home Office committee that decides on security provision for high-profile royals and politicians – known as Ravec – has written to Harry informing him a ‘full review’ will take place.
If true, then this decision defies complaints made by Team Sussex about the meeting held last week by Ravec, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.
Some in Harry’s camp had accused Buckingham Palace of trying to scupper the Ravec meeting with King Charles’s bombshell letter last week which made clear Buckingham Palace’s view that the Sussexes were ‘private citizens’ not working royals.
Harry and Meghan were taken by surprise by the letter and would prefer to be known as ‘public figures’, it was made clear by sources close to them.
They believed the timing of the letter may have been an attempt to influence the Ravec committee on whether to reinstate Harry’s taxpayer-funded security.
At the time, the Daily Mail reported that such claims were incorrect, and the letter was sent out by the palace to offer clarity ahead of a busy programme for the Sussexes, not to interfere with his battles with the Home Office committee. In fact, those close to the King believed the move could make it easier for him to see his son privately.
Tonight, Harry’s fears that the letter could have been designed to block his bid for security appeared unfounded with the news that Ravec is going to fully review his need for protection for him and his family.
ITV News’s royal correspondent Chris Ship said: ‘It was decided that Harry should get a full review of his security now that he is resident in his home country and his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have started classes at a British school.’
It was said the official review carried out by Ravec, called a Risk Management Board (RMB), would be conducted for both Harry and Meghan. It would be the first review of the potential risks and threats facing Meghan since the couple left the Monarchy in 2020.
Princess Lilibet, five, and Prince Archie, seven, playing carefree in the English countryside in an image from a video posted online by their mother
Feet being warmed on the fire in a traditional English countryside setting, in an image from a video shared by the duchess
Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, are thought to have already enrolled in a British school (the family are pictured in December 2025)
In fact, Harry had a new ‘RMB’ completed in July, eight weeks ago, but this was conducted before those assessing his case knew about his plans to relocate his family to the UK.
Currently, said ITV News, the only protection the Sussexes have been given by British police is the phone number of a police liaison officer. The duke has been told to call the phone number should he need police help, but he believes this is essentially zero protection as it would take officers a long time to reach him, were he or his family to be in distress or under attack.
Harry argues he is the son of the British monarch, the fifth in line to the throne and a veteran of the British Army who completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He was criticised by some British officers for his decision to boast in his 2023 memoir Spare about how many people he had killed during his battles against the Taliban. Some suggested this had massively increased his need for protection against those who might seek revenge.
Scotland Yard does not discuss the security arrangements of royals but it is understood that protection is arranged on a case-by-case basis and is constantly under review. During some recent UK events attended by Harry, such as charity evenings, he has clearly been afforded police security.
Harry and Meghan also pay millions for private security. But in America, their bodyguards may be able to shoot people deemed a threat. In Britain, their close protection agents are not allowed to carry guns, explaining why the duke is desperate to reinstate his automatic police protection.
The Home Office and Team Sussex were contacted for comment.
