On Monday, the Sussexes’ spokesperson confirmed that Prince Harry and Meghan have removed their children from their British school after only two days. According to the spox and “Sussex insiders,” there was an incident on the school run, and the Sussexes’ private security think that this particular school run is a huge risk. We also heard that the private security people were only able to check the route and traffic over the summer, which obviously would not mimic the kind of traffic they would face once school began. Basically, it’s yet more evidence that this whole move was probably not as well-thought-out as Harry and Meghan would have us believe. Obviously, the Daily Mail had additional details:
Meghan and Harry had only been able to test the route to Archie and Lilibet’s new school during the summer holidays after deciding to return to Britain, and were alarmed by the traffic on the first day of term. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pulled their children out of the private school after just two days when their convoy became separated during the busy school run, it emerged today. Sources close to the couple claimed their security fears were heightened whenever their vehicles were stopped in traffic, leaving them ‘sitting ducks’.
Their private protection team had been unable to properly assess the journey from the family’s new home to the unnamed school during term time, with the commute taking up to an hour each way this week. Archie and Lilibet spent just 48 hours at the prep school before their parents ‘reluctantly’ withdrew them on the advice of their security team, who warned that the commute was placing their unit under ‘strain’.
Friends of the couple have stressed that the issue was not with the school itself. Instead, Archie and Lili, seven and five, were taken out because of the lengthy commute from their new home and heavy traffic on the way to school. One source close to him has claimed that a worrying incident this week when the Sussexes’ vehicles were unable to stay together in convoy had alarmed the couple.
Prince Harry, who turned 42 today, was reportedly seen settling Lili into reception, and the couple were added to WhatsApp groups. Parents at the school had also spotted Harry taking one of the children through the gates. One mother with two children at the school said Harry and Meghan’s decision to send their children there had been a coup and had excited many parents. But she added: ‘Parents at the school are completely baffled. You don’t need to be an expert to know how congested that area is. It’s one of the worst places to drive in the UK.’
Another mother said of the slow school run: ‘This was obviously going to happen.’
But a Labour MP suggested that he believes the Sussexes have been left exposed. Mike Tapp, who represents Dover and Deal in Kent, said: ‘Nearly three weeks after their arrival, the King’s son, Meghan, and their children remain without protection. Whatever the eventual outcome, there are serious questions about how this process has been handled. In the cold light of day, there should be a proper review to ensure decisions of this importance are made swiftly, independently and on the basis of risk.’
Archie and Lili will now join another school in the area after visiting for a taster session on Monday. Harry and Meghan’s security are said to be much happier with that choice as the commute is shorter.
You know what this blows up? The whole narrative that Harry was desperate for his kids to experience a certain kind of British private school, and that Harry has super-strong feelings about British education in general. This move was clearly not about what schools the kids attend, because they found a much more convenient school change in a matter of days and they’re treating it as no biggie, like one school is the same as the other. I would also argue that this blows up the narrative that Harry and Meghan had been planning out this move for the past year – why was their private security only checking on the school route over the summer if the Sussexes knew they were going to enroll the kids in that school during the previous school term? I have to say, the moms quoted in this Mail piece are correct too – “This was obviously going to happen.” I’ve felt that same way about everything that’s happened around Harry and Meghan in the past month. All of this chaos and drama… it was obviously going to happen.
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram.
Yeah I still think the main drivers were protecting Invictus, which is taking place on hostile territory, and being near an ailing Charles. As the daughter of a challenging parent, I understand the apparent contradiction of doing what you can to maintain contact as they age.
@Teddy, I completely agree. I think Charles is worse than the public knows and Harry wants to be closer to him when Charles takes a turn for the worse. It is for Harry’s piece of mind.
My father was a narcissistic AH, but when he was dying, I made it a point to be there for him to the end. His wife was quite the peace of work. She was the reason why I didn’t go see him after he died. He was gone, what was the point because I was there the day before. I did my time and I have felt free ever since.
This makes a lot of sense. It also gives me hope they’ll be out of there in a year
For the life of me, I don’t understand why people think the family would move for Charles. I doubt Harry gets health updates. People can live for years with cancer and nothing indicates a decline. Charles doesn’t have any interest in the Sussex children. So I don’t really see the upside of turning their lives upside down for him. I also don’t see why they would move for Invictus. They didn’t move for all of the other games.
There was no threat to Invictus until William’s pal assisted in the take over of Sentebale and changed it. Harry believes that he had to protect Invictus otherwise William would have that as well as a revenge against his brother, I don’t believe he has any real interest in it and he would allow it either to fail or hand it over to a minion. I might be wrong but I believe that Harry believes it. As a side effect it is nice to see William doing more work.
Didn’t Harry have any say in where Invictus would be held? Why choose England to host if that was going to create problems?
@Teddy, I completely disagree. I dont think Charles’ cancer, if indeed thats what he has, is anywhere near the top of the list of priorities or reasons why Harry moved his family temporarily to england. I dont believe Harry wants to be any closer to chucky than chucky wants to be to the Sussex family. Harry’s PEACE of mind is primarily dependent on knowing that his wife and kids are safe; and secondly: knowing that, for the first time in 5 years, he can be hands-on in live and living color with preparations for IG27 and not have to sync multiple time-zones for zoom meetings with the planning committee on the ground, especially given the importance and significance of this particular IG27.
Respectfully, Harry and Meghan changing schools due to security reasons does not invalidate the argument that Harry wanted them to go to a british school.
They are definitely staying in a very wealthy area and most wealthy areas have good schools close by. I think if they decide to stay for a year, I can see the kids moving schools once they have found a permanent place to stay in the UK if that is their choice.
I think the point Kaiser was trying to make is that none of this has been thought through. They are flying by the seat of their pants, which is an insane thing to do if you fear your family is in mortal danger.
@Rachel – Yup and it makes it all that much more bewildering.
Just because something doesn’t work out doesn’t mean it wasn’t thought out…there is a reason there is a saying “the best laid plans…”. It is clear that many don’t like the fact that they moved back to the UK. But they have reasons most of us may not know or understand. I like how everyone is glossing over the fact that the media knew where the school was and no doubt had their people along the route trying to get information which could add to the traffic and security issues.
I also have a feeling the security will be much simpler (and less expensive!) going to a small Cotswolds country school. Harry is clearly very VERY focused on getting their security approved by Ravec. If a less complicated morning routine makes ravec approval more likely ….he’d compromise for a different school.
There is zero chance the new school is a ‘small Cotswolds country school’. It will be another large expensive prep school, just closer.
You know where they didn’t have to worry about security on the school run? Montecito.
I’m a broken record on this, I know, but this move to England continues to mystify me. It’s the exact opposite of protecting one’s peace.
And every little misstep or shift in plans is going to be seized on and magnified by the vultures in the rota.
As someone from outside of the US looking in, I’d respectfully challenge the notion that they were safe. I used to love travelling in the US. Even had a summer home in the US. Now? I wouldn’t feel safe.
The murder rate in the US is horrendous compared to the UK. UK 1 to 1.2 per 100,000, per year US. 5 to US 6.5 per 100,000 per year. They are probably safer in the UK even without the 1st class security they want.
The crime rate notwithstanding, most Americans live long lives without being impacted by violent crime (other than sexual assault which many women suffer everyday everywhere in the world).
The writer of the article in The Cut (2022) was in the car when Meghan stopped at at traffic light with Archie in the car after school pick-up and had her security give a backpack with snacks, etc. to an unhoused person. She explained that they made these care packages to teach the kids about homelessness and empathy. The mean streets of Montecito are hardly the streets that make up the US’s sickening gun statistics, and the fact that Meghan would do this (which I support, by the way) is testament to that.
But shouldn’t that mean that they actually have a good reason for this seemingly random move? You think they left their safe haven for shits and giggles
At this point I believe they are way past what things look like and more focused on achieving whatever goal they’re aiming for
With this, and the ravec stuff, I’m starting to wonder if the whole move was just about forcing/settling the security issue once and for all. I don’t get why they’d go to such lengths, but I also don’t understand anything else h&m have done lately, so who knows?
I think you’re spot on. I do believe they face legitimate threats and should have protection. I’m aghast he would bring his family back into an unsafe situation to win an argument.
It’s less about winning an argument and more about fighting for your rights.., RAVEC cannot keep dilly dallying over a life and death matter. You think this looks good for the home office or the entire government to not solve this issue?
They tried to force their desired outcome by announcing the half in plan on their website before it was approved— which backfired spectacularly. It doesn’t really surprise me that they would try again to create a situation where the firm looks bad if they don’t provide what H & M want. But the royal family doesn’t really give a hoot if they look like assholes so it will probably backfire again. I also think they switched schools because an hour each way is a terrible commute even if it’s perfectly safe. Who picks a school that far from home without understanding rush hour traffic?
Sorry no. But we know that the half-plan had been leaked to I believe Dan Whooten so the Sussexes went ahead and released their statement bc they knew it was about to be leaked by the palace. Let’s not rewrite history bc that is not how it went down.
Nope. They presented it as a done deal, not a wish.
@Jais – yes, I remember it the way you do. Dan W was about to leak it so they released what they had to pre-empt him. IIRC they described the circumstances somewhere, can’t remember where (possibly Spare?).
Well, if this wasn’t a long term plan, then there has to be some specific urgency behind it. You don’t move a whole family to the other side of the planet because you wake up one morning pining for the Cotswolds.
I think you’re right. Charles must have limited time left and Harry decided this is probably the only shot he’s got to mend fences before William takes over.
I agree that their must be an urgent reason, but doubt that it’s to be near Chuck in his final days. Harry’s father the King clearly has NO time for him, literally and emotionally, and I think that dime dropped a loonnng time ago. And with the miracle drugs out now for prostate CA, I also doubt Chuck is dying any time soon. If I have to guess, I think Harry is either going to be a main character in the film about Diana, or that Invictus is under some kind of 4 alarm threat. Harry would think the risk worth it for his veterans or his mother.
Everything that happened this summer with them and Charles indicates to me that his family is not really interested in mending fences with him and never will be. Harry and Meghan had every right to do the Oprah interview, their Netflix documentary, Spare, and everything – but Clarence House will burn down before they forget all that.
As far as Harry’s own goals beyond being with UK relatives and working with his previous charities, I think he doesn’t want to be a working royal but he still wants the cache he has in Britain (understandably on some level – and this will have been ingrained in him his whole life despite his status within the family) and for his kids to be seen as in the line of succession. That’s fine but I think he’s gone too far for it. And that’s not me saying it’s how it *should* be. They should never have had to be forced out in the first place, they didn’t want to do that. But it’s reality.
People keep talking about Invictus but honestly I think all of this PR has affected that way more than staying in California would have – while most of the media is nonsensical it only makes disinformation easier with this fuss.
I think its both – I think this was in the planning stages for a long time, but maybe they didnt hit the “go” button until July. And honestly, someone can tell you traffic is bad or its congested and you still might not fully grasp it until you’re actually in it, especially if the security team is American and wasn’t able to fully account for how bad it would be.
Like you said, i dont think this move is bc they woke up one morning and said “we should move to the Cotswolds! Lets go next week!” Something triggered this move – maybe it is just about the kids experiencing English life for a year but maybe its something else.
I also think its a possibility that someone from the government (RAVEC or whoever) advised against this school but not until they were already enrolled. That fits with the announcement of Meghan herself getting a security review.
I’ve supported them this whole time and I believe Harry when he says his children are not safe in the UK.
Why is he playing with their lives? This is now the second time they’ve been uprooted in the last month and it sucks. Children need routine. It’s not his fault his dogshit father won’t give them sufficient protection. It *is* his fault for bringing them back to a country where they can’t have armed guards.
Is he putting his family at risk to say “see?!! We need guards!”
That’s really upsetting tbh.
I have taught in an English prep school and visited some others. Actually they are remarkably similar. Some are more academic than others but there is not a huge difference. We have already been told that the Sussexes didn’t find out the kids had a place in the previous school until the summer so how would the security be able to access the commute if it’s not certain which school they would be enrolled in. This concern trolling is getting tiring!
Along with the attitude that if something happens it will be their fault due to their choices. Charles, the royal family, William and RAvEC love to see it. These are the types of comments they are banking on. Shades of how dare Diana try to go out and about after the divorce.
People are naturally concerned about the safety of children, it’s like getting upset if a neighbor keeps a dog outside in the heat without a water bowl. As adults, Harry and Meghan can take care of themselves. Their kids are vulnerable.
I agree Julia and Jais. I cannot imagine people of Harry and Meghan’s intelligence, resources and specific life experience in the BRF didn’t have a few schools that made the final list, and checked all of them out over the summer, and now move down to the next one on the list? Like, actual adult rational people, right?
And BaileyS: I also agree with “Just because something doesn’t work out doesn’t mean it wasn’t thought out…there is a reason there is a saying “the best laid plans…” No plan survives contact with the enemy, as the saying goes. Harry and Meghan tried their best with the information they had available at the time; now they’re adjusting, there is a lot, and I mean a lot of moving parts and we’ll just have to see how it all plays out
Yup! And that goes for the editors of this here site! It’s been real weird and depressing. Thank goodness for the handful of sane fonts
It shouldn’t take two months to assess possible traffic SNAFUs! It’s a matter of math and maps! Of course we’re concerned or we wouldn’t even be reading this article or responding to comments.
@puff udater ‘it’s a matter of math and maps’. Obviously you do live in the UK and don’t know how unpredictable the traffic can be. The traffic in the road where I live is completely different in term time than it is in the school holidays. No looking at maps would tell you that!
I have lived in the UK and I agree with Puff Updater. It’s not a different planet geographically, lol. They still have regular roads and traffic laws.
Also I don’t even have kids and know which streets to avoid for school drop-off bottlenecks through basic observation even outside the school year. Two parents with multimillion dollar security people advising them would be much more in the know.
If Harry, an Apache pilot trained as a gunner to paint his target and hit the mark in a war zone, plus an entire professional security team can’t figure out “math and maps” while those of us on a gossip website can, because it’s just so darned simple?
Well. I don’t know what to say to that except maybe, just maybe we don’t have all the information about the situation…and Harry and Meghan do
Agreed. We know so little about what is going on.
why are they being so chaotic?? stay in CA!
Ah yes, the “the Sussexes cause chaos, it’s all their fault so don’t ever associate with them!” and the “Stay in your little box in the US and never darken the UK door again” narratives! straight out of Clive Alverton and KP’s playbook
Hi, Bulletproof Sunshine! (waves) How’s the job right now? Got any sleep lately? I’m sure the very high salary that the BRF pays is worth it, right?
I’m glad the MP spoke out.
Me too. This whole thing is absurd. I don’t understand why the king can’t dip into his billion dollars to pay for his young grandchildren to be protected.
Is he saying he’s not allowed to?
FFS Harry has offered repeatedly to pay for it himself, so that isn’t even an excuse! They just blatantly don’t prioritize protecting the Sussex family.
ETA: if that came out sounding irritated, it’s absolutely not directed at you! It’s because of this whole unnecessary shitshow
He dips into his billion dollars to fun his brother Andrew.
Hmm…doubtful the DM spoke any moms from the school. More like they’re quoting a deranger on Twitter. The Labour MP comments was verbatim what he posted on Twitter about the security situation. I’m not going to bash Harry and and Meghan for this. They’re not the first parents to decide to switch schools after a big move. I think it does highlight as Kaiser said that the British education narrative is made up and I’ll add that it still appears to me that Harry and Meghan’s stay in the UK is not a permanent one.
The British education narrative is not made up. It came straight from Harry a year ago. Even after switching, the kids are still in a British private school. We don’t know the details but I’m guessing it’s not akin to an American public school in any way. Under the circumstances, they had no choice but to find a closer, less elite school.
Please point me to where Harry said he wanted his children to have a British education.
Exactly Amy Bee. The tabloids reported that a friend of a friend had said that a singer had said that Harry had been asking what British schools were like. No-one who is intimately associated with Harry speaks to the tabloids or has ever said any such thing, and he certainly has not.
They made up this whole “British schools are superior” hence Harry wants to come home narrative, just as they claimed that he returned to be half-in or to crawl on his face and beg his father to love him or to get people to bow down to him because he is royal. Christ.
Bottom line: the only thing we know is that they are back in the UK. The British media do not know why. But they need to keep talking about the Sussexes because that is how they get clicks and make money so they will keep filling the vacuum with their made-up narratives and talking points spoon-fed to them by the palaces.
Two “private citizens” change their children’s school and the whole world writes stories. This is the intrusion H&M have talked about for ages. It’s no ones business but theirs, when will the tabloids understand this?
I’m in the uk. It’s not that uncommon for parents to move primary age kids from one school to another after a few days. This is really not a big deal. People need to chill. Harry is not ‘messing with his children’s lives’ they will be fine. Kids are very adaptable as long as their home life, in terms of the people caring for them is consistent. The kids will be fine. This is concern trolling on steroids!
Emily, I believe the concern is for the children’s physical safety from kidnappers or other bad actors that could access them without proper security, not with their emotional support systems.
I carefully researched infant schools for my children and made the choice for the best education for my children, at age 3, the earliest I could, by the time my eldest started the headmistress had retired and was replaced by a lesser teacher, and the one that I have rejected had improved. How much research can you do? I did discuss this with a tame educational psychologist, and he agreed.
@MikeB, every single thing about this will be dissected by the tabloids and the narrative will definitely be that H&M are disorganized, impulsive, etc.
But I’m one of the people who believes that H&M have put themselves in the position — it’s certainly not that the BM left them alone when they were in CA, but this is different— it’s like they’re on steroids now.
I’m not saying by any means that the Sussexes deserve it! No one does. They should be able to live their lives without constant abuse. It’s just baffling because we didn’t hear of any issues like this when they were in CA.
Everything that H&M do is going to be under so much scrutiny — just like this, a perfectly normal thing that many families do for all sorts of reasons will be turned into an international incident and a blame game about how H&M don’t know how to parent and all sorts of nastiness. It’s just unfortunate.
We need to keep in mind that by returning to the UK, Harry wanted to force the issue of the security review in a way that was never going to happen if he and the family remained in the US.
Now we have MPs calling for them to be given security. That’s great.
I wonder why this is not obvious enough? Starting to feel willful
Obviously, we don’t know much of what goes on behind the scenes. But if I thought taking my young children somewhere was unsafe, I wouldn’t go. End of story. These security concerns should have been worked out ahead of time. I hate to sound judgmental, but given the seriousness of the situation, I’m perplexed. I pray it all works out for them and that their little family is safe.
Yes, it’s obviously not safe anywhere for kids these days especially in the US but if you have a target painted on your forehead because of who you are like Harry does, I don’t get why he’s putting the family he loves in the line of fire by not having security that is up to snuff. Especially since he’s been in war zones and knows first hand how quickly danger can escalate. So his being an Apache pilot just makes this whole mess more … incomprehensible, to put it as kindly as possible. Go ahead, @ me, but I DO NOT get it!
It is difficult to judge the weight of traffic in term time during the school holidays.
The tabloids have been beating the drum all along to blame the Sussexes and everything is H & M’s own fault because of reasons. That alone makes me want to do the opposite—that is, don’t blame the victim.
I don’t think the Daily Mail knows anything. But they’ve got column inches to fill. How on earth would THAT paper know what their security team is discussing? Their teams do not talk to outsiders. They are simply doing what the other tabloids are doing: pretending that they’ve suddenly got sources in the Sussex team.
Unless RAVEC is providing details to them about the rationale behind the decision? I honestly don’t think that it was a hasty decision to move, and feel certain that the school and backup schools had already been checked out, applied to and checked out long before they arrived, as well as that the routes had been checked out. They had enough time to check out the route to and from school during the school run hours because other schools would have begun before the Sussex children were due to start. So none of that makes sense. We do not know what the nature of the incident was. If it were simply about the separation between the vehicles then while this is something which would not have occurred if it had been official royal protection, I feel that there is more to the story than that. British reporters or their hired thugs deliberately trying to cut the vehicles off in order to get pictures of the kids in the vehicles?
I want to believe that there is something we don’t know that’s brilliant that is going to make sense of this move.
But, probably not.
Only maybe to try to protect invictus.
Now I’m wondering if they did this now because they know once Charles dies and the “king” of England will be a raging, petty, eternally jealous, vindictive, emotionally stunted moron- living in England will be much, much worse.
How did Jon Oliver phrase it before the wedding –
The royals are an emotionally stunted, fundamentally flawed group of people doing a very silly pseudo job.