Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's security team has been criticised by a royal commentator after their children were moved to a different school due to traffic-related security concerns. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, had only just started the new school year in England after the family relocated from the US just over two weeks ago.
School switch due to traffic concerns
According to Hello! magazine, the children will now join another school after heavy traffic and the lengthy journey to their first school reportedly put the Sussexes' security team under strain. The outlet reported that Harry and Meghan's bodyguard had carried out checks on the first school over the summer holidays but did not manage to inspect the area properly until the first day of term, when the traffic problems emerged.
Commentator criticises security team
Veteran royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams criticised the move, writing on his X account: “We await the security review. It is quite extraordinary that the Sussexes' team did not check out the route for the school run properly before they arrived. It’s all become public and it’s all become a circus.”
Another social media user agreed, saying: “I said yesterday that the security team should be fired. No proper risk assessment.”
Security review underway
The school move comes after a reported meeting last week of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which is responsible for making decisions about royal security. Harry, who turns 42 on Tuesday, is waiting to hear the conclusion of the Risk Management Board’s threat assessment, and Ravec is expected to decide whether the Sussex family should be entitled to taxpayer-funded security now they live in the UK.
The Telegraph reported that the committee chairman wrote to the duke last week, confirming that in light of their changed circumstances, it had commissioned a new risk assessment for him and a separate one for Meghan.
Meanwhile, a family spokesman told Hello!: “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 parents remain extremely grateful to all the teachers and staff for the love, care and effort they have shown their family. This decision should in no way be interpreted as a reflection on the school or the exceptional care the children have received there.”
