Prince Harry reportedly gave the Home Office security committee less than two weeks' notice of his plans to move his family back to the UK. Harry's representatives are understood not to have given RAVEC the usual 28 days' advance notice of the family's wider plans to relocate to Britain, including Meghan Markle and their children, Archie and Lilibet, starting school in the UK.
What is RAVEC?
RAVEC - which stands for the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures - is an independent British government body operating under the Home Office that is responsible for determining tax-payer-funded police protection and security arrangements for members of the Royal Family and high-profile public figures in the UK. RAVEC was reportedly informed that the Duke planned to spend an extended period in Britain for a series of engagements.
RAVEC was informed of the family's full relocation plans as soon as was considered "practicably possible", following concerns over potential leaks, the late confirmation of the children's school places and Harry's wish to tell his father first, The Telegraph reports.
Timeline of the return
Harry and Meghan informed King Charles of their planned UK return on August 16, it is believed. The Sussexes landed at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday. The family were said to have travelled on a Bombardier Global Express XRS luxury long-range business jet for the overnight flight. The family is understood to be relocating to the UK for an "extended period" of time and it is heavily rumoured that they are living in the Cotswolds.
Visitors without default full-time protection, including Prince Harry, are generally required to give RAVEC 28 days' notice before travelling to the UK so the committee can assess specific security needs on a case-by-case basis.
Security background and response
RAVEC withdrew Prince Harry's full taxpayer-funded protective security in 2020 after he and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working members of the Royal Family and moved to the United States. The change took effect on March 31 of the same year, after which any security support for Harry during visits to the UK would require advance notice and would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
A source close to the Sussexes dismissed the relevance of exact timescales to The Telegraph, saying that the committee had been "kicking the can down the road for the last seven years". "We have always adhered to the rules they set, even as the goalposts have moved along the way," they said. "Playing by those rules has never made any difference." They claimed that RAVEC has only ever wanted to maintain the status quo, adding that "geography was the backbone" of the committee's justification for withdrawing security in 2020, and Harry and Meghan's decision not to live in the UK was "treated as a significant factor".
The situation is now different and the "sensible thing" should be done, the source suggested, which is to "protect the King's son and grandchildren". Harry's security in the UK is under a new review by the Home Office following his return to Britain, reports have claimed. Last year, he lost a legal battle against the Government over the security arrangements for him and his family while in the UK. Harry had been looking to overturn the decision that had downgraded his security after he ceased being a working royal and moved abroad about six years ago.
