Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet reportedly pulled from school within days

Prince Harry and Meghan have withdrawn their children from the new British school they had recently chosen for them, it was reported tonight.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex removed Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet after they had attended for only two days.

The children, aged seven and five, were raised in the United States and arrived in Britain only a few days ago. According to ITV News, they have now been taken out of their preparatory school because of security concerns.

The broadcaster reported that Archie and Lilibet are now ‘starting somewhere new’ after Harry and Meghan discussed the practical arrangements with their security team, which concluded that a change of school was necessary.

The development comes as Harry’s request for taxpayer-funded police protection is reportedly being ‘reviewed’ following his return to Britain.

The Duke and Duchess are understood to have been told that a decision was taken at a meeting last week to reassess the potential threat facing them both.

Harry has been in a long-running dispute with the Home Office over the removal of his automatic entitlement to security. He has maintained that, as a prince, he requires police protection while in the UK.

However, he lost a series of legal challenges against the Home Office, which ruled that he no longer had the right to request taxpayer-funded protection whenever he wished after stepping back as a working royal in 2020 and moving to California.

Last year, following another defeat at the Royal Courts of Justice in his case against the government, Harry told the BBC that he could not see a time when it would be safe to bring his family to his country of birth.

His position has since changed. After bringing Meghan, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to live in the UK, the prince’s access to police protection is now reportedly under review.

The assessment is expected to consider the risks facing Prince Harry as well as those involving his wife, Meghan.

ITV News reported that Ravec, the Home Office committee responsible for determining security arrangements for high-profile royals and politicians, has written to Harry to inform him that a ‘full review’ will be conducted.

If true, then this decision defies complaints made by Team Sussex about the meeting held last week by Ravec, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.

Some in Harry’s camp had accused Buckingham Palace of trying to scupper the Ravec meeting with King Charles’s bombshell letter last week which made clear Buckingham Palace’s view that the Sussexes were ‘private citizens’ not working royals. 

Harry and Meghan were taken by surprise by the letter and would prefer to be known as ‘public figures’, it was made clear by sources close to them.

They believed the timing of the letter may have been an attempt to influence the Ravec committee on whether to reinstate Harry’s taxpayer-funded security.

At the time, Our News Outlet reported that such claims were incorrect, and the letter was sent out by the palace to offer clarity ahead of a busy programme for the Sussexes, not to interfere with his battles with the Home Office committee. In fact, those close to the King believed the move could make it easier for him to see his son privately.

Tonight, Harry’s fears that the letter could have been designed to block his bid for security appeared unfounded with the news that Ravec is going to fully review his need for protection for him and his family.

ITV News’s royal correspondent Chris Ship said: ‘It was decided that Harry should get a full review of his security now that he is resident in his home country and his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, have started classes at a British school.’

It was said the official review carried out by Ravec, called a Risk Management Board (RMB), would be conducted for both Harry and Meghan. It would be the first review of the potential risks and threats facing Meghan since the couple left the Monarchy in 2020.

In fact, Harry had a new ‘RMB’ completed in July, eight weeks ago, but this was conducted before those assessing his case knew about his plans to relocate his family to the UK.

Currently, said ITV News, the only protection the Sussexes have been given by British police is the phone number of a police liaison officer. The duke has been told to call the phone number should he need police help, but he believes this is essentially zero protection as it would take officers a long time to reach him, were he or his family to be in distress or under attack.

Harry argues he is the son of the British monarch, the fifth in line to the throne and a veteran of the British Army who completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He was criticised by some British officers for his decision to boast in his 2023 memoir Spare about how many people he had killed during his battles against the Taliban. Some suggested this had massively increased his need for protection against those who might seek revenge.

Scotland Yard does not discuss the security arrangements of royals but it is understood that protection is arranged on a case-by-case basis and is constantly under review. During some recent UK events attended by Harry, such as charity evenings, he has clearly been afforded police security.

Harry and Meghan also pay millions for private security. But in America, their bodyguards may be able to shoot people deemed a threat. In Britain, their close protection agents are not allowed to carry guns, explaining why the duke is desperate to reinstate his automatic police protection.

The Home Office and Team Sussex were contacted for comment.