Prince Harry and Meghan have faced a security alert at their children’s new U.K. school.
Prince Harry and Meghan have criticized paparazzi for being “extraordinarily reckless” after two photographers were spotted looking into the grounds of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s new school.
School staff and private security saw two men wearing backpacks, walking the perimeter of the school and monitoring children, U.K. news agency PA reported. The men, later identified as photographers linked to a European press agency, then returned to a white van, which police determined to be a rental vehicle.
A spokesperson for the couple said, “The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless. There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day.
“It is concerning enough that certain European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect the privacy of children at school…. Whatever photographs they may have been seeking, this was not only an unacceptable intrusion into the privacy of children; it was an irresponsible and ill-considered way to conduct themselves in the vicinity of a school.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have kept their children out of the public eye in recent years, not taking them to public events and not sharing photos of their faces on social media.
The couple moved their children to a new school earlier this month having pulled their kids out of a previous school after just two days when their security team raised concerns over heavy traffic on the route.
Members of the British press have followed a request from Britain’s independent press regulator not to identify the school that Archie and Lilibet attend or where the family is living. But photographers working for companies in other countries aren’t bound by the same rules.
The family, who moved back to the U.K. in August, are waiting to hear if they will be given taxpayer-funded security. Taxpayer-funded protection is given to working royals, a role which Harry and Meghan left in 2020 when they stepped back from their royal duties and moved to California.
The Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC), is assessing the family’s eligibility after Harry lost his Court of Appeal challenge on security in May 2025. In the interim, they’re paying for private security and have put measures in place to increase the security of their new home, Britain’s ITV News reports.
Harry, who is fifth in line to the British throne and a veteran of the British Army, maintains there are multiple threats against him. According to a report seen by ITV News earlier this year, the risks include a threat to his life made by al-Qaeda in 2023 that was picked up by the FBI on a closed Telegram chat.