Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have pulled Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet out of their original school after just two days, after their security team said the school run could not be made safe. The children met classmates last week, but are now moving on to another school in the area.
The timing matters because the move has landed in the middle of a long-running fight over how the family is protected in the UK. Harry has been battling to have his VIP police protection reinstated since September 2021, and Meghan has now been granted her first government-backed security review since leaving royal life in 2020.
What changed this week was not the school itself. People close to the couple said there was no issue with the teaching or care, and the spokesman for the Duke and Duchess said the decision followed a discussion with the family’s security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements. The parents, the spokesman said, remain extremely grateful to all the teachers and staff for the love, care and effort they have shown their family, and the move should not be read as criticism of the school or the care the children received.
The problem sat outside the classroom. Bodyguards for the Sussexes checked the first school during the summer holidays, but they were not able to properly assess the school run until the first day of term. Heavy traffic in the area, the distance from where the family is living and one incident that made it hard for the vehicles to stay in convoy all fed into the decision, because the route could not be made operationally secure.
That is why the family has now turned to another school nearby. Archie, seven, and Lili, five, visited it for a taster session on Monday, and Harry was spotted settling Lili into reception. The couple have also been added to the parents' WhatsApp groups, a small sign that the next school chapter is already under way. The unanswered question is which school that will be, and whether the wider security review now under way will change how the family can manage ordinary routines in the UK.
