Prince Harry told the security services about his impending return to the UK before he told the King, the Mirror can reveal. The royal informed mandarins about the shock move earlier this month in order for them to prepare security measures. His father only found out on Sunday.
Government under pressure over security
The government are now under pressure to give tax-payer funded protection to the prince, his wife Meghan and their children, when they move to the UK later this month. Harry has been waiting for the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as RAVEC, to make a decision about his family’s security arrangements for the last nine months.
It is understood it has been delayed by a lack of resources, with nine former Prime Ministers and members of the royal family already receiving protection. But the Royal Family's former head of protection Dai Davies says it must now be done urgently as he believes the Sussex's decision to move back to the UK has changed the landscape.
Mr Davies told the Mirror: "The whole risk assessment will have to be reviewed. I wonder, given the short notice, has anybody worked it out for them, because even me, who has been very opposed to him getting protection as a non-royal, now I think the whole scenario is changing."
Cost and scale of protection
Speaking about the cost and scale of the security now needed to protect the Sussex's, including their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, Mr Davies said: "In terms of cost, it's going to cost a huge amount. If they've found a premises, that's got to be brought up to date in terms of security and I know how expensive that can be. It's not just securing the windows and doors - it's the technical things, the safe room that has to go in and so on, and then you've got vehicles. An armoured car comes in at about half a million pounds for the top end."
Mr Davies added: "Do we, as tax-payers, actually pick it up? I don't know at this stage. That will be a decision for RAVEC based on the intelligence and information that they will hopefully now get."
Legal and political context
The furore comes as Harry prepares to learn how much he and others, including Elton John and Doreen Lawrence, will have to pay in costs after losing their case against Associated Newspapers on Friday. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Harry and Meghan's security arrangements are a "private matter". Speaking on Thursday, Mr Burnham added: "It's a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the move that they are making."
Harry and Meghan previously lost their right to automatic, taxpayer-funded round-the-clock police security in February 2020 after stepping down as senior working members of the British royal family and moving to the US. Harry later lost a case at the High Court in February 2025 which concluded RAVEC, an independent body overseen by the Home Office, was right to downgrade his high-level police protection when he is back in the country.
In May 2025, Harry took his case to the Court of Appeal, but after a two day hearing Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos told the court while the duke’s safety concerns were both “powerful and moving”, his “sense of grievance” did not “translate into a legal argument”. In December, Harry won a new Government review, which is yet to be carried out.
Threat assessment and next steps
Harry, 41, now plans to continue to lobby RAVEC to complete an urgent review into his security, after he sent the department a report from his private security company claiming he is a terror target. A 40-page risk assessment suggested he faced an “elevated risk” in the UK, where five of the six known terror plots against him originated. At least four individuals responsible for those threats are thought to be out of prison, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Mr Davies believes police officers will be essential in protecting Harry and his family once they move to the UK. He said: "Common sense would say that that's sensible given the notoriety of the pair of them. The local constabulary and their support structure is so important to the protection and this will have to happen again wherever this house is."
