As Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two young children settle into their new home in the United Kingdom, questions remain about security protection for the family.
As non-working royals, Harry — who is fifth in line to the British throne — and his wife and children do not receive the same automatic taxpayer-funded armed police protection as Harry’s royal family members, including his father, King Charles III, and his brother, Prince William.
The Sussexes reportedly landed in the U.K. from California last week to begin their extended stay, but security arrangements for the family have not been publicly disclosed.
In the U.K., an independent body — the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as RAVEC — is tasked with deciding who gets royal and VIP security in the country.
RAVEC ruled in 2020 that security for the Sussexes would be granted on a case-by-case basis.
Harry lost an appeal last year challenging the British government’s decision to reduce his publicly funded security following his and Meghan’s decision to step back as senior working royals in 2020.
The Sussexes have relied on a privately funded security team for the past six years since moving to California. During that time, Harry spoke often of his reluctance to bring Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet, back to the U.K. due to security concerns.
Now that they are back living in his home country, Harry is reportedly re-pleading his case for armed security.
The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that Harry wrote to the U.K. government’s minister in charge of police to ask for more protection.
In the letter, which ABC News has not independently verified, Harry alleged that RAVEC, which handles police protection details, did not warn him of a possible Al Qaeda threat against him in 2023, according to the Times’ reporting.
Neither Harry nor Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace — Charles’ and William’s respective offices — have commented on the Sussexes’ move to the U.K. The questions surrounding security for Harry’s family come as the world marks the 29th anniversary of the death of Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.
The Sussexes’ current security situation is similar to that of Diana, who had to rely on private security protection after her divorce from Harry’s father, Charles, in 1996.
The following year, on Aug. 31, 1997, Diana died in a car crash at the age of 36 while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris. Harry was just 12 at the time of his mother’s death, while William was 15.
Harry has said previously that some of his tensions with his father and brother stem from what he sees as their role in his family’s security being taken away.
“I was stunned that my family would allow security to be taken away, especially at the most vulnerable point for us,” Harry told ABC News’ Michael Strahan in a 2023 interview about his memoir “Spare.” “And maybe they didn’t understand the concerns that I had. I mean, I listed them. I laid them out.”
When asked whether he thought his family didn’t understand his security concerns, or didn’t care, Harry replied, “I think probably a little bit of both.”
Neither Kensington Palace nor Buckingham Palace have commented on the claims Harry makes in “Spare.”
By ABC News
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