Most of us assume that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will still be protected by their private security once they move to the UK later this month (in a matter of days, it would seem). The Sussex family’s royal protection was cut off abruptly in early 2020, after which Tyler Perry gave them private security for several months while they figured out their next moves. By the summer of 2020, the Sussexes had moved into their Montecito mansion (which is behind a security gate) and they had arranged the private security they still pay for to this very day. Meghan has been protected by private security longer than she was guarded by royal protection officers. Well, people are now talking about whether the Sussex family will receive any form of police protection or taxpayer-funded security when they move back to the UK. They even got the new prime minister on the record about it.

Security arrangements for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their return to the UK are a “private matter”, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said. He added: “It’s a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the move that they are making.”

It comes after it emerged that the couple intend to relocate with their children from the US to the UK later this month to a private, non-royal residence outside London.

The Home Office said decisions on the security of royals were taken by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec). The prime minister does not decide about security for the Royal Family. The Home Office, however, appeared to stand firm on its decision not to foot the bill.

A spokesman said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.’

Ailsa Anderson, Queen Elizabeth II’s former press secretary, said the public would want answers about how any security arrangements were funded.

She told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘There will be questions asked – here is a non-working member of the Royal family, back in the UK. Should the British taxpayer really have to foot the bill for his security? People are struggling to put food on their tables, to pay their heating bills. I don’t think it will sit well with the British public if they feel they have to pay for security for two non-working members of the Royal family.’

[From BBC & The Daily Mail]

Go back to what we learned last month, and what Harry learned about his Home Office risk assessment. He wrote to the Home Office last fall and requested a risk assessment, which had not been done on the Sussexes since 2019. The Home Office agreed to a risk assessment and then… someone paused the assessment this past spring. If the Home Office and RAVEC ever completed it and found that the Sussexes need real police protection, then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I would assume that they’re making arrangements similar to what they have in Montecito – living behind a gate, leaving the house with private security and evading the paparazzi the old-fashioned way.

Photos courtesy of Netflix, Cover Images, Avalon Red.