Prince Harry's preoccupation with security has come under renewed fire as the former head of the Royal Protection branch, Dai Davies, breaks his silence on the ongoing row. The Duke of Sussex is due to travel to the UK next week for the Invictus Games' One Year to Go events, but it remains unclear whether his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will accompany him.
Ex-Cop Criticizes Harry's Security Stance
Dai Davies, who led the Royal Protection Command from 1994 to 1998, told the Daily Express that Harry's security demands are excessive. “The structure and intelligence service determine who gets protection. Harry has an obsession with security, fed by his mother's paranoia about it, and sadly discarded Royal Protection for the Al-Fayed lot,” Davies said. He noted that Harry's legal challenge for police protection was rejected after a court hearing, adding, “The threat is potentially there, but their behaviour has done little to minimise it.”
Davies explained that the main threat to royals comes from “a lone fixated individual,” but stressed that such incidents are rare. “So his team are more than adequate in my view. As he is no longer working royal, sadly, he does not merit full-blown protection,” he added.
Harry's Security Battle and Family Uncertainty
The Duke has faced a protracted legal battle with the Home Office over security arrangements since stepping down as a working royal in 2020. A spokesperson for the Sussexes issued a fiery statement, saying: “Prince Harry’s programme in the United Kingdom includes both public and private engagements across the country. Safe accommodation is only one element of an effective protective security plan because risk follows the person, not the place.” The statement criticised the lack of an independent assessment by the Risk Management Board, which was promised last November but has not taken place.
Harry has previously described the UK as “too dangerous” for his family, citing concerns about lone actors. In an ITV documentary, he said: “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 and whether it's a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me.”
Government Stance and Future Visits
A government spokesperson reiterated that the UK's protective security system is “rigorous and proportionate,” but declined to provide details. “It is our longstanding policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' security,” they said. The Sussexes have accused Harry of using the opportunity for King Charles to see his grandchildren as “emotional blackmail” to secure a security detail. The children have not been in the UK since 2022.
