Harry and Meghan's decision over Archie and Lilibet's schooling raises questions amid security concerns
Less than two weeks into the new school year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have already made a major change to their children's education.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle landed in the UK last month after confirming they'd be returning permanently to the former's home country after a six-year absence.
The couple fled Britain in 2020 after resigning from their royal responsibilities, citing severe mistreatment from both other senior royals and the UK press.
They set up shop in the US, welcoming their daughter, Princess Lilibet, five, in Montecito, California, the following year.
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Alongside the couple's return, palace officials also confirmed that their young children, Lilibet and her seven-year-old brother, Prince Archie, would be enrolled in British schools.
According to HELLO!, however, just days into Archie and Lilibet's first term, the couple have already made the decision to withdraw them from their initial choice of school following conversations with their security team.
The news outlet reports that heavy traffic on the drive to and from their first choice has already dissuaded Meghan and Harry from continuing to send Archie and Lilibet there, after their private security team raised concerns.
Going forward, the youngsters will attend a different institution considerably closer to home.
"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," a spokesperson for the couple told the publication.
"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."
In light of the revelation, onlookers have raised concerns over why Archie and Lilibet had been able to attend an inconveniently located school in the first place, questioning who has been advising Harry and Meghan since they returned to the UK.
"Who on earth is advising them? Surely they have a relocation agent?" one Reddit user questioned. "If not (which would be odd), they could have easily found a parent/teacher/local friend to tell them what the term time commute is like."
Another agreed, adding: "I really don’t understand. Even if they don’t have an agent, we’re unable to contact anyone at the school, and neither was their security team; they could have gone in to the local Facebook page and asked. All anonymously so no one would know.
"Our village Facebook would be virtually unused if people didn’t ask traffic-related questions."
A third continued: "They have a buying agent working for them. Evidently not a very good one!
The schooling update comes after a meeting was allegedly held last week between the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) - the official body responsible for making decisions about royal security.
Harry - who is celebrating his 42nd birthday today (15 Sept) - and Meghan are still awaiting the result of a recent threat assessment conducted by the Risk Management Board and Ravec.
The two organisations will decide together whether to grant the couple taxpayer-funded security now that they're UK-based.
According to The Telegraph, the committee chairman wrote to Harry last week confirming that, given their new location, a new risk assessment for him and a separate one for Meghan would be commissioned.
Topics: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, UK News, Royal Family
Rhianna Benson