Should Prince Harry & Meghan Markle get taxpayer-funded security? Take our poll and have your say

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made the extraordinary decision to move back to the UK , after living in sunny California for six years. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to the US in 2020, after quitting their royal roles and seeking personal and financial independence from the monarchy.

Now, Harry and Meghan, along with their children Archie and Lilibet, are set to return to Harry’s home country for an extended period, with the Sussex family believed to be arriving in the UK by the end of August. It is understood that Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, are already enrolled in schools in England to start the school year in September.

While Harry and Meghan have of course lived in the UK before when they were working royals, there is one major difference for the Sussexes this time around: the lack of their taxpayer-funded security .

The Duke's level of security drastically changed in 2020 when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California for a life away from the Royal Family , losing his automatic police protection when in the UK , which he was granted due to his working royal status.

As a result, Harry was then ordered to give a month's notice of any trips, whether personal or for business, to the UK and the risk would be evaluated before his security is granted. On each return to Britain, Harry has been declined full protection and has funded his own personal security instead.

In May 2025, he lost his appeal over the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office for the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.

He plans to continue to lobby the Home Secretary to complete an urgent review into his security, after he sent the department a report from his private security company claiming he is a terror target.

It is understood that Harry believed the review would take place prior to his trip to the UK in July, which saw the Duke and Duchess reunite with the King and Queen at Highgrove, but the review has been delayed.

At the time of the delay in July, a source close to the Sussexes said: “Harry is devastated and in absolute turmoil over this decision. He is incredibly frustrated at the lack of action from the Home Office and its delay in making a decision. He has blamed dark forces for stopping his family coming to the UK and arranging to see the King. Everything is very much up in the air.”

Despite Harry’s urgency for his security to be reinstated, he will have to wait for a decision on his security arrangements in the UK as officials deal with protecting nine ex-Prime Ministers.

The Duke had been told he would be granted a risk management board at the end of 2025 that would reassess if he should be given automatic protection each time he visits the UK. The review had been due to be carried out in March by an independent body, but it has yet to take place.

It has since emerged the backlog is in part due to a struggle to cover high-level security for politicians, including nine ex Prime Ministers.