Prince Harry recently shared his fears about bringing his wife Meghan Markle back to the UK due to safety concerns for his family. The 39-year-old Duke of Sussex spoke about these issues during a meeting Interview for the ITV documentary “Tabloids on Trial,” which premiered on July 25.
Asked if his high-profile lawsuits against the press are drawing more attention to him, he laughed and replied: “There’s already more than enough attention on me and my wife anyway.”
“I was put under a lot of pressure,” he continued. “It got to a point where you’re damned if you do it and you’re damned if you don’t. But I don’t think there’s anyone in the world better prepared and better positioned to be able to pull this off than I am.”
“It is still dangerous and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads these things and acts on them. And whether it is a knife or acid, whatever it is, these are things that really worry me. It is one of the reasons why I will not bring my wife back to this country.”
Prince Harry has previously said he “felt compelled” to step back from his royal role and leave the UK, citing security concerns for his family. Shortly after the couple announced their decision to step back as working royals, the Royal and Public Figures Safeguarding Executive Committee (RAVEC) stripped them of their automatic entitlement to UK police security. Although the Duke of Sussex offered to cover the security costs, the offer was rejected and earlier this year, High Court judge Peter Lane upheld the decision to reduce his security.
Prince Harry plans to appeal the decision“The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but rather a fair and lawful application of RAVEC’s own rules, ensuring he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with RAVEC’s own written policy,” a legal spokesperson said.
In a statement to the High Court in London, Prince Harry emphasized The need for police security for his two children — Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 — “to feel at home” in his native country. “The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to my children’s heritage and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they currently live in the United States,” Harry said. “That can’t happen if there’s no way to keep them safe when they’re on British soil.”
“I can’t put my wife in that danger and, given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to put myself unnecessarily in danger as well,” he added. Prince Harry and Meghan, 42, moved their family to California in 2020 after stepping back from their roles as working members of the royal family. While King Charles’ son has returned to his home country on multiple occasions since then, including his father’s coronation in May 2023, the Duchess of Sussex has only returned to the U.K. on a handful of occasions — most recently joining her husband to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral events in September 2022.
Their two children were last in the UK in June 2022, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended events related to the Platinum Jubilee of Queen ElizabethThe family celebrated Lili’s first birthday with a party in the backyard of Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor that they were asked to leave after moving to the US. While Archie was born in England, Lili joined the family after they moved to California.
During the interview, Prince Harry also spoke about his ongoing battle with the tabloids, which he says play a “central role” in the rift with his family. “I think it certainly is a central role,” the Duke of Sussex said. “It’s a difficult question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.”
“I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done. It would be good if we did it as a family,” he continued. “I think, again, from a service standpoint and when you’re in public office, these are the things that we should be doing for the common good. But I’m doing it for my reasons.”
Asked about the royal family’s decision not to speak out on the issue, he said: “I think everything that has happened has shown people what the truth of the matter is. For me, the mission continues. But it has caused a bit of a rift.” However, Prince Harry said his late grandmother supported him.
“We had a lot of conversations before she passed away. She was very supportive of this, she knew how much this meant to me,” he said. “She’s up there saying, ‘I’m going to see this through,’ without hesitation.”
When it comes to the subject of his father, King Charles, and his sister-in-law Kate Middleton’s recent cancer diagnoses Prince Harry said: “They are two completely different things. My father, my sister-in-law and I, pursuing these legal battles, are two completely different things.”
