Upon their arrival in the UK, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly have not been provided with security funded by taxpayers. Their only official resource has been the contact number of a police liaison officer.
On Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex touched down at Birmingham Airport, bringing along their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, marking the beginning of their new chapter in the UK.
Despite their royal status, the family was denied a publicly funded police escort for the road journey to what is believed to be their new residence in the Cotswolds.
According to ITV News, while Harry and Meghan have been given access to a police liaison contact, their security provisions will not extend beyond this point.
Feeling dissatisfied with these security arrangements, Prince Harry has directed his legal team to approach Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, requesting her intervention in the matter.
Harry still has hope of being granted taxpayer-funded security after Ms Mahmood reportedly ordered a new review of the terror threat against his family.
Sources told the Daily Mirror the Home Office is ‘actively assessing’ his case following the couple’s decision to return to England after six years in the US.
Harry’s security adviser David Langdown is currently responsible for their safety and is believed to have established a team of British protection staff for the family.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a David Foster Foundation celebration event in Canada on August 7
The Sussexes flew in on this Bombardier Global Express XRS business jet, pictured at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday
Mr Langdown, who is friends with Harry having known him for at least 15 years, is understood to have brought in a security team of people he knows and trusts.
Ex-royal protection officer Scott Hamer, who provided security for Charles when he was Prince of Wales, said the current situation was putting the Sussexes ‘in danger’.
Speaking about the decision to simply provide an officer’s phone number, Mr Hamer said: ‘I have been involved in protection for 25 years; I find it absolutely incredible.
‘We currently have eight non-working prime ministers who are in receipt of police protection that is paid for by the public. The threats and risks to Prince Harry are far greater.’
‘I am not privy to the intelligence regarding Liz Truss, but having been prime minister for 49 days… if we are basing this purely on threat and risk, which it should be, I would argue that Prince Harry should be in receipt of protection.’
After Harry’s level of protection changed when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020, he has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over security for him and his family while they are in the UK.
In late June, Harry 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.
At this point, the duke and his security detail were working to try to ensure his July visit to Britain could go ahead safely. He eventually flew in alone, before being joined by Meghan, Archie and Lilibet.
The risk assessment is believed to have eventually been completed at the end of last month, and Harry then gave the Home Office 28 days’ notice that he was intending to return to the UK.
Harry and Meghan are believed to have been in the back of this £80,000 Mercedes-Benz V220d but were given no police protection for their arrival in a private section of the airport
The man on the right at the front is David Langdown, Harry’s security adviser and friend
Three cars waited at Birmingham Airport from about 10am on Wednesday for the jet to arrive
It is understood that the duke had not been told of Ravec’s conclusions at this stage – but was confident of a change in the protection he would receive.
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Despite still not receiving taxpayer-funded protection as it stands, Harry hopes that the situation could shift given he is now living in Britain again – rather than simply visiting from the US.
One Government insider told the Mirror: ‘Officials have been asked to make a new assessment now that the family in question have chosen to reside in the UK. Any recommendations will be made in due course.’
Individual decisions on protective security for key public figures, including members of the Royal Family, are made by Ravec – which includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Royal Household – which advises an independent chairman.
Long-standing arrangements mean the decisions are taken by Ravec on behalf of the Government, and do not involve by the Home Secretary.
The Sussexes flew into Birmingham Airport on Wednesday on a Bombardier Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles.
They were driven away 20 minutes later in a £80,000 Mercedes-Benz V220d but were given no police protection for their arrival in a private section of the airport.
They chartered the jet with Planet Nine Private Air, a California-based private aircraft operator. Hiring it is believed to cost about $12,000 (£9,000) per hour of flight time.
The Sussexes are now setting up their home in the UK but plan to live as an ‘international’ family, keeping their properties in California and Portugal.
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Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, pictured in London earlier this month, has been asked by Harry’s lawyers to look again at his security protection
The announcement that they were returning to Britain came as a shock after they quit the working monarchy in 2020 and bought a house in Montecito.
Harry, 41, and Meghan, 45, will live in a non-royal residence outside London. Their children have both been enrolled in UK schools and are ready to start next week.
It comes a month after the couple took Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, to see their grandfather the King for the first time in four years at Highgrove.
Sussex-friendly People magazine suggested this week that the monarch wanted to see his sons Harry and Prince William ‘together over time’.
The brothers no longer speak, falling out around the time of Harry’s 2018 wedding, with the relationship worsening following Harry’s accusations on TV and in his book.
Sources close to Harry have also told People that he ‘never really stopped missing home’ after leaving Britain six years ago. Harry also wants his children to ‘understand the world he grew up in and where their family comes from’, according to insiders.
Meghan, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, is also feeling ‘very fortunate that they’re able to give Archie and Lilibet the opportunity to experience both worlds’.
The rest of the Royal Family is at Balmoral in Aberdeenshire for their summer break, and the King was photographed out for a drive nearby at Braemar yesterday.
A Government spokeswoman told the Daily Mail today: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
‘It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.’
The Daily Mail has also contacted a representative of the Sussexes for comment.