Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Accused of Using Their Children to Strengthen Case for Armed Security
The Royal and VIP Executive Committee is set to reassess police protection for Harry and Markle following their return to the U.K. last month.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been granted a new risk assessment by RAVEC following a concerning security scare this week. The Sussexes recently pulled out their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, from their new prep school within two days after their security team failed to assess the dangers of traffic congestion during the school run. "The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family’s security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements," the couple's spokesperson briefed HELLO! regarding the situation. However, a royal expert has weighed in on the current issue, along with reactions from local parents.
Tom Sykes has claimed on The Royalist Substack that parents at the schools attended by the Sussex children suspect that Harry and Markle knowingly exploited Oxford's traffic issues to strengthen their argument for protective armed security despite being 'private citizens'. "Literally all people talk about is the traffic in Oxford. Parents spend their time dreaming up strategies to beat it. One favorite is to get up at 5:45, drive in, and go and sit in [a coffee shop] for an hour and have breakfast and do homework there," a parent stated.
"This was obviously going to happen... They didn’t know there was traffic in Oxford?! This is all just a ploy to get security," another parent highlighted. Meanwhile, reports suggest that the Sussexes' security team conducted checks on the school only during the summer, later stating they could not adequately assess the situation until the first day of term.
The Royal and VIP Executive Committee is set to reassess police protection for Harry and Markle following their return to the U.K. last month. This matter has frustrated the Duke, especially after he lost a legal challenge against the U.K. government last year, which dashed hopes for publicly funded armed guards during their visits.
The couple has not had automatic protection since stepping down as working royals in 2020. Meanwhile, a former Royal Protection Chief, Dai Davies, who was responsible for protecting the late Queen Elizabeth II and the wider Royal Family during the 1990s, has advised the Sussexes to maintain a "low profile". "If you keep a low profile, most people outside the school wouldn't know where you are, what they're doing, and all the rest of it," he said while appearing on Sky News.
"Do they really need to go in convoy with two little children on the school run? If they only just kept a little quieter, kept a lower profile, they'd be a lot safer in my view," he added. It has been reported that Archie and Lilibet have tested out another alternative British educational establishment and will be joining classes there soon.
