ReutersSecurity 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).
Security for the couple has long been a point of tension, with Prince Harry losing a legal challenge last year over how much he and his family were entitled to when visiting the UK.
Now that they are moving back to the UK, Ravec will have to make a new decision on their security as previous arrangements were based on them not living here permanently.
The Home Office has said the UK’s protective security system was rigorous and proportionate, but “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.”
The Sussexes left the UK and stepped back from their royal duties in early 2020, before they settled in California.
There is no suggestion that the Sussexes are going to become full-time working royals again, so they may not qualify for the levels of security Prince Harry had before he and his wife left the UK six years ago.
But the couple will be high-profile public figures, with close links to the King and Prince Harry’s military service in Afghanistan also remains an important consideration.
It remains to be seen whether Prince Harry will get the taxpayer-funded security that he has always asked for since stepping down as a working royal.
If he does not get it, he would have to top up any security he might be given out of his own pocket.
The couple visited the King and Queen Camilla last month in the UK.
It was the first time the King had seen his grandchildren in person in more than four years, and the couple’s first visit to the UK together since 2022.
Last year, Prince Harry lost a legal challenge in which he sought to overturn a decision that had downgraded his security after his move to the US.
At the time, he told the BBC that he “can’t see a world” in which he would bring his family to the UK due to the downgrading of his protection.
Royal expert Robert Hardman told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme it was likely that some of their past security issues “have been resolved” but details – or who is going to foot the bill – are still unknown.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, are enrolled at a British school from September.
King Charles was told of their move back to the UK on Sunday.
In the US, the Sussexes have employed a private security team to protect them.
They offered no comment when asked by the BBC whether that team would be moving to the UK with them.
