Prince Harry has expressed his concerns about bringing Meghan Markle back to the UK.
The 39-year-old Duke of Sussex discussed his family’s safety worries in a new interview for ITV’s documentary Tabloids on Trial, which broadcast on July 25.
“It’s still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff, to act on what they have read,” Harry told me. “And whatever it is, whether it’s a knife or acid, these are the things that truly bother me.” That’s one of the reasons I’m not bringing my wife back to this country.
In 2022, Neil Basu, the former chief of counterterrorism for the Metropolitan Police, stated that the Duchess of Sussex faced actual threats to her life while in the United Kingdom.
“We have teams investigating it. People have faced prosecution for these threats,” Basu said at the time.
Prince Harry previously stated that he “felt forced” to resign down from his royal duties and leave the United Kingdom, citing security concerns for his family. Shortly after the couple announced their decision to step down as senior working royals, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) suspended their automatic entitlement to U.K. police protection. The High Court judge Peter Lane upheld the decision to reduce the Duke of Sussex’s security early this year, despite his voluntary offer to reimburse the cost of protection.
Prince Harry intends to appeal the judgment. “The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of RAVEC’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with RAVEC’s own written policy,” a representative from the legal department stated.
In a declaration to the High Court in London at the time, Prince Harry stated that he required police protection for his two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, in order for them to “feel at home” in their own nation.
“The United Kingdom is my home,” Harry said. “The United Kingdom is central to my children’s heritage, and I want them to feel as at home there as they do in the United States.” That can’t happen if they can’t be safe on U.K. soil.”
“I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too,” according to him.
Prince Harry and Meghan, 42, moved their family to California in 2020. While King Charles’ son returned to his native country several times, including his father’s coronation in May 2023, the Duchess of Sussex has only visited the United Kingdom on a few occasions. Her last visit was in September 2022, at Queen Elizabeth’s burial.
Their two children were most recently in the United Kingdom in June 2022, where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended ceremonies commemorating Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. They celebrated Lili’s first birthday with a lawn party at Frogmore Cottage, their Windsor home, which they had to leave after moving to the United States. While Archie was born in England, Lili joined the family after they moved to California.
NEW: @ITV announces Prince Harry has taken part in a documentary about phone hacking.
He tells our reporter @BeccaBarry why he is fighting to expose what he says are the illegal activities of Britain’s tabloid newspapers.
Hugh Grant, Charlotte Church, Paul Gascoigne also speak.… pic.twitter.com/0gFPZWMmo7— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) July 10, 2024
During the interview, Prince Harry also addressed how his battle with the media has been a “central piece” in the schism with his family. Harry won his phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers in December 2023.
“I think that’s certainly a central piece to it,” remarked the Duke. “That’s a hard question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.”
“I’ve made it quite obvious that we must do this.” It would be wonderful if we did it as a family,” he added. “I believe that, again, from a service standpoint and as a public servant, these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good.” But I’m doing this for personal reasons.
When asked about the royals’ decision not to speak out on the topic, he stated, “I believe everything that has happened has shown people the truth of the situation. For me, the mission remains. However, it has resulted in a rift.
However, Prince Harry stated that his late grandma was supportive of him.
“We had many conversations before she passed; this is very much something she supported; she knew how much this meant to me,” said the man. “She is up there going, ‘See this through to the end,’ without question.”
When asked about his father, King Charles, and sister-in-law Kate Middleton’s recent cancer diagnoses, Prince Harry responded, “The two are absolutely unrelated. My father, sister-in-law, and I pursuing these legal battles are two entirely different things.”