Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will face major 'problem' ahead of UK return, security expert predicts

A counterterrorism expert believes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could face an obstacle so major ahead of their long-awaited UK return that it could put a stop to the idea entirely.

The Telegraph broke the unexpected news last night (19 Aug) that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will relocate to the former's home nation later this summer, six years after the couple fled to the US.

They emigrated in 2020 after resigning from their royal responsibilities, alleging Meghan had been 'bullied' by several senior royals, and citing severe mistreatment from the British press.

The decision resulted in the couple's automatic police protection in the UK being removed, despite Harry arguing that he and his family remained at significant risk when visiting Britain.

A security expert has spoken out (Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

Through the father-of-two challenged the decision in court, he ultimately lost his legal battle in 2025, when the Court of Appeal upheld their decision.

The issue resurfaced a matter of months ago, when Harry was told that the taxpayer-funded police protection he wanted for Meghan and their children - Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five - during their trip to visit King Charles III would not be provided.

The family flew over anyway, relying on private security to escort Harry to several charity events, and accompany him, Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet to Highgrove House, where they met the King and Queen Camilla.

Despite this, the Prince has continued to argue that he needs a higher level of protection in Britain - something security professional Will Geddes says is actually an argument working against him.

"Now, the problem is, Harry has undermined his entire argument for RAVEC (Executive Committee for the Protection of Royals and Public Figures) security, because the threats he's been the most concerned about are generally within the United Kingdom, and yet he's returning home," he told Tyla.

The couple will attend British schools in September (Instagram/@meghan)

"I think it's going to be a challenge for RAVEC to grant him security, so we'll have to wait and see."

Geddes continued: "They may do another assessment - Harry is going to be aiming for it, but if he's not carrying out royal duties, it's going to be difficult."

Despite this, he believes the couple have probably been aware of this issue for some time, and are considering all options behind the scenes.

"I mean, this is a really interesting manoeuvre," Geddes added. "King Charles might not have been aware of Harry and Meghan returning until recently, but security - no doubt - will have been planning this for some time.

"I won't have been an overnight decision."

Concerning the security that Archie and Lilibet will be afforded when they enrol at British schools in September, he predicted this would also prove an 'interesting' matter.

Will Geddes has shared his view on the Sussexes' situation (Supplied)

"I would imagine they're going to put the kids into a school like Eton that has really good security infrastructure in place already," the expert suggested. "But I think they'll end up using their own personal security, i.e. not provided by the public and the royals."

Apparently, the family will move to a private, non-royal residence outside of London, and the children will attend schools in the surrounding area.

Tyla contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.