Overview
- The Sussexes announced on Friday that they will move back to the UK at the end of August and enrol their children in British schools in September, prompting fresh questions about long-term protection.
- Ravec, the government committee that sets protection for public figures, has not issued its risk assessment or recommendation and its decision will determine if police-funded security is provided.
- Former royal protection chief Dai Davies told media outlets that continuous armed police protection for Harry, Meghan and their two children could cost up to £5 million a year, a figure now central to public debate.
- UK law and practice mean non-working royals do not automatically get the same state police protection as active royals, private security cannot replicate armed police in Britain, and a 2025 court ruling confirmed Ravec’s discretion.
- The issue has become politically charged with Prime Minister Andy Burnham calling who pays a 'private matter' and some outlets and commentators criticising potential taxpayer costs, raising questions about transparency and public tolerance for state-funded security.