Michael Holden
London: The children of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, are to swap schools after just two days because of concerns over the security of transporting them, the couple’s spokesperson said.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, and his family relocated to Britain last month after six years of living in California, with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, starting school in September.
The location of their new home and details of the children’s school have been kept private. But on Monday (UK time), a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed reports that Archie and Lilibet were changing schools after just two days.
The distance between their home and the original school, along with heavy traffic in the area, had raised concerns for their security team.
“The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family’s security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements,” the spokesperson said.
“The parents remain extremely grateful to all the teachers and staff for the love, care and effort they have shown their family. This decision should in no way be interpreted as a reflection on the school or the exceptional care the children have received there.”
According to HELLO! magazine, a friend of the couple said: “It’s a real shame because they absolutely adored the school, the kids and their parents. It was perfect for them in every way, and the children really enjoyed their time there. They really wanted to make it work, but they had to make a difficult decision based on the fact that the team couldn’t make the school run operationally secure.”
Meghan and Harry stepped down from royal duties and moved to the US in 2020, leading to estrangement and awkward relations with the royal family as they delivered a series of barbed comments about the institution.
Their return came as a surprise, with even the monarch unaware of their plans until just days before it became public. They are not living in a royal residence and will remain non-working royals, as agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth before their move.
The duke and duchess’s status as private citizens was confirmed in a letter authorised by Charles and sent to senior British officials last week, a step which their spokesperson said had come as a surprise.
The prince has also been critical of the government’s decision to strip him and his family of automatic police protection afforded to other senior royals, with a bespoke system put in place instead.
Harry’s security is currently being reviewed by a government committee, and the couple’s spokesperson confirmed that Meghan’s situation is also being looked at again for the first time since they moved away from Britain.
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