Debate whether the UK should help fund Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s security
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are coming back to the UK and their bombshell move has sparked debate over who will pay for their security. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to live in a non-royal residence outside of London, having already enrolled Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in British schools.
Decisions about whether taxpayers will foot the bill for their security remain unanswered, as does the exact reason for their relocation, with the Sussexes yet to comment publicly. Prime Minister Andy Burnham would not be drawn on Harry and Meghan’s security arrangements in the UK, saying the funding for it was a “private matter”.
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King Charles’s younger son has faced a prolonged legal battle with the Home Office over the security arrangements for him and his family while in the UK, after his level of protection changed when he stepped down as a working royal in 2020.
At the end of June, he was still waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board, part of the process by which the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) rules on his security requirements – and he and his security detail were working to try to ensure his July visit could take place safely.
Individual decisions on protective security for key public figures, including members of the Royal Family, are made by Ravec, which includes the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police, and the Royal Household, and is advised by an independent chairman or chairwoman.
As the fallout of their announcement continued, Harry and six other household names were set to find out how many millions of pounds they would have to pay to the Daily Mail’s publisher in legal costs.
The high-profile figures, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information-gathering, but Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all the cases in a judgment last month.
Mr Justice Nicklin is to give his decision on the size of the initial payment the group will make to ANL, with the court previously told that the total costs were more than £34 million.
Harry and Meghan’s decision to relocate to the UK was only relayed to the King three days before the bombshell news went public on Wednesday night.
The Sussexes decamped to California more than six years ago amid the turbulent Megxit crisis, which was followed by ongoing family fallouts and a barrage of accusations fired at the Prince and Princess of Wales and the King and Queen Camilla.
Rumours have abounded about where Harry and Meghan will settle, with suggestions including rural locations in the Cotswolds of Oxfordshire or Gloucestershire, amid speculation over which schools they have chosen for their children.
The King is said to be glad to be able to spend more time with the Sussex family, but remains adamant they will not be working royals, and there is no half-in, half-out option.
Archie and Lili are expected to start at their new schools in early September.