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Return Spurs Security Fight
Prince Harry and Meghan are returning to the United Kingdom for an extended stay starting this fall after six years in the United States, with their children Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, enrolled to start school in September.
“The Associated Press learned Wednesday”
The Associated Press learned the couple will live in a private, non-royal residence outside London and will not resume their roles as working members of the royal family, while NBC News reported King Charles was informed of the move on Sunday.
The BBC said the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), overseen by the Home Office, will have to make a new decision because previous arrangements were based on the Sussexes not living in Britain permanently.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham told reporters their security arrangements were a "private matter," and the Home Office said it is "our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements" because it could compromise security.
In the background of the move, the BBC noted that Harry lost a legal challenge over how much he and his family were entitled to when visiting the UK, and that he told the BBC last year he "can't see a world" in which he would bring his family to the UK due to the downgrading of his protection.
Ravec, Burnham, and Quotes
As details of the move emerged across UK front pages, CNN said the family’s return would trigger speculation over where they will live and what triggered the change of heart, while also focusing on what was not addressed immediately: their security.
CNN reported that Harry made an 11th-hour decision not to bring his wife and children to his London engagements last month, after his taxpayer-funded police protection became a longstanding bone of contention.
The BBC said Ravec previously concluded that because Prince Harry was going to be an infrequent visitor to the UK, his security needs would be assessed on a case by case basis, and it added that the Home Office described the protective security system as rigorous and proportionate.
In a separate account, AP quoted Harry at a roundtable event in Washington, where he replied, “Nothing to say.” when asked to discuss the reports by the AP.
AP also quoted Harry telling the BBC, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” linking his security dispute to a desire to rebuild relations.
Highgrove Meeting and What’s Next
CNN said the decision to return was likely shaped by the couple’s catch-up with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove in Gloucestershire, where CNN reported the meeting marked the first time the 77-year-old monarch had been reunited with his grandchildren in four years.
“The meeting at Highgrove, the monarch’s private country residence in Gloucestershire”
NBC News said Harry and Meghan visited the UK last month and spent time with the king at his Highgrove estate in western England, and it reported that it was the first time Archie and Lilibet had seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee in 2022.
The BBC added that the decision followed a visit in July by Prince Harry, Meghan and their children to see the King at his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire, described as the first time the King had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years.
Looking ahead, the BBC said Ravec’s reassessment of the couple’s new permanent circumstances could determine whether they get taxpayer-funded security, and it noted there is no suggestion they will become full-time working royals again.
In the meantime, the BBC said the Sussexes left the UK and stepped back from royal duties in early 2020, before settling in California, where they have employed a private security team to protect them.
