Responsibility for Harry and Meghan’s protection on their return to Britain is a private matter, Andy Burnham said, shifting immediate clarity about public funding away from government spokespeople. Asked on a visit to West Yorkshire whether ministers would establish and pay for the couple’s security, Burnham said, “Well, this is a private matter. It’s a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the moves that they’re making.”
The announcement follows a surprise decision to relocate from California this month into a non-royal residence outside London. King Charles was reportedly told three days before Wednesday’s public confirmation. No detailed plan for UK security arrangements has been published.
Harry’s protection status has been contested since he stepped back as a working royal in 2020. He has pursued a lengthy legal dispute with the Home Office over the level of guard deployed when he is in the UK. At the end of June he remained awaiting a review by the risk management board, the body that advises the executive committee for the protection of royalty and public figures, and his private security team was preparing to allow a safe visit in July.
The couple are expected to relocate later in August. Their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, are already enrolled at a British school. The Sussexes met the king last month at Highgrove in Gloucestershire; the monarch reportedly welcomes more family contact but will not restore any official status. The Prince and Princess of Wales were told of the decision. Prince William and his brother remain estranged over criticism the Sussexes levelled after their departure from the UK.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt told the Press Association that the return increases the prospect of competing personal followings around the two brothers and will complicate any effort by William to avoid reconciliation. It is understood the Sussexes will not be offered a “half-in half-out” royal role, a position rejected at the 2020 Sandringham summit when they stepped down as senior working royals and ceased using HRH styles.
The couple will keep homes in Montecito and Portugal. Meghan will continue to operate her lifestyle brand As Ever from their new UK base. Practical arrangements for private and public protection, and how costs might be covered when they are in Britain, remain unresolved and will shape the practical limits of their return.
