Prince Harry has opened up about his concerns regarding bringing Meghan Markle back to the United Kingdom.
In a interview for ITV’s documentary Tabloids on Trial, which aired on July 25, the Duke of Sussex, 39, expressed his fears for his family’s safety.
Why is Meghan Markle not traveling to the UK?
Harry stated, “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. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
The former head of counterterrorism for the Metropolitan Police, Neil Basu, confirmed in 2022 that Meghan faced credible threats to her life while living in the U.K.
“We had teams investigating it. People have been prosecuted for those threats,” Basu explained.
Prince Harry previously mentioned that he “felt forced” to step down from his royal duties and leave the U.K. due to safety worries for his family.
After Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step back as senior royals, their automatic right to police protection in the U.K. was removed by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC).
Even though Harry offered to pay for security, his request was denied, and in an earlier ruling this year, High Court judge Peter Lane upheld the decision to reduce his security.
Prince Harry plans to appeal this decision. A legal spokesperson for Harry stated, “The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of RAVEC’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with RAVEC’s own written policy.”
In a statement to the High Court in London, Prince Harry expressed his need for police protection for his children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, to feel at home in his birth country.
He shared, “The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States. That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”
He added, “I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.”
Since relocating their family to California in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan, 42, have had differing travel schedules. While Harry has returned to the U.K. for several occasions, including his father’s coronation in May 2023, Meghan has only made a few visits back, with her last trip being in September 2022 during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral events.
Their children were last in the U.K. in June 2022, when the family attended events for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. During their stay, they celebrated Lilibet’s first birthday with a backyard party at Frogmore Cottage, their former Windsor home, which they vacated after moving to the U.S. While Archie was born in England, Lilibet was born in California.