Parents at the schools attended by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, say they believe the couple are using their two young children — and fears about their safety — as leverage in a long-running fight with British officials over publicly funded police protection, in claims published September 16, 2026.
Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, were pulled out of their new English school and moved to another days after starting, and parents of other children at the schools they briefly attended said they suspect the couple’s stated worries about the school run are a bid to strengthen their case for taxpayer-funded guards. “This was obviously going to happen… They didn’t know there was traffic in Oxford?! This is all just a ploy to get security,” one parent said. The family has again requested beefed-up protection since returning to Britain, despite no longer being working royals, and officials have said they are conducting an official risk assessment.
A spokesperson for the couple said the change of schools came after the family’s security team looked at how workable the existing arrangements were. The couple’s representative said the move had nothing to do with the standard of teaching and everything to do with protecting the family, adding that the parents remain grateful to the school’s teachers and staff and that the decision should not be read as any judgment on the care the children received there.
Parents Point to Oxford’s Traffic
The children attended only two days at their original U.K. school before being withdrawn. Traffic problems in Oxford made it hard for the private security team’s separate car to stay close to them on the school run, and the city’s congestion is severe enough that in October 2025 it brought in a congestion charge, a step no British city beyond London had taken until then. The security operation carried out its checks on the school over the summer but said it had not been able to properly assess the school run until the first day of term. Concerns were reportedly raised when the family’s convoy was broken up in traffic, leaving the cars described as “sitting ducks.”
Other families at the school were unimpressed. One parent said local traffic dominates conversation among parents, with a favorite tactic being to get up at 5:45 a.m., drive in early and spend an hour in a coffee shop over breakfast and homework. At the new school, parents reported that the children were settling in and that nothing had been circulated asking families to respect the couple’s privacy, which one parent called welcome. Meghan was added to a parents’ WhatsApp group there and replied with thanks to the other mothers, though a mishap left her personal phone number visible to the group.
Ravec Opens a Full Review
The children’s withdrawal coincided with the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) — also known as the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures — confirming on September 14 that it would review Harry’s security. Ravec, a government body that coordinates protection for members of the royal family with the Royal Household, the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office, wrote to Harry to say his case had been discussed at a meeting. Meghan’s security will be reviewed at the same time, the first official review into her protection since the couple left the monarchy in 2020. Ravec agreed to the review now that the couple are U.K. residents and their children have started at British schools.
Commentators Question the Timing
Royal author Robert Jobson told Sun Studio that the episode had been dressed up as a major security incident when, he believed, it had more to do with the family not getting up in time. “It’s really sad that the kids are becoming the narrative here,” he said. Jobson added that the drama coincided with Ravec’s decision on whether the couple get full-time protection, and said the media was being played.
Royal expert Angela Levin said the affair was a route to getting Ravec to spend a large amount of taxpayers’ money on the couple, and questioned whether traffic in the Cotswolds was genuinely a problem or whether the day had been staged to pressure the government into providing round-the-clock publicly funded protection. Levin said it seemed very odd that nobody foresaw the problem before term started, and that the two children had to be brave going into an unfamiliar class after being taken out of their home and classroom in California without anyone saying goodbye.
The couple lost automatic police protection when they stepped down as working royals in 2020, and Harry later lost his legal challenge against the U.K. government, ending hopes of publicly funded armed guards whenever the family returned. He has said he pays for the family’s security in the United States and offered to pay for police protection in Britain, only to be told that armed British officers are not for hire; he reportedly spent more than $1 million on lawyers fighting the case. In 2024, friends of King Charles III accused Harry of “emotional blackmail,” suggesting he would not let the king see his grandchildren unless he received armed police protection in the U.K.
The family moved back to Britain in August after six years in California, and the duchess was reported to be nervous about doing the school run. Reports on September 2 said the children would attend a prep school charging $35,000 a year. The couple have not revealed the name of the new school.