Prince Harry’s Former Protection Officer Warns Security Decision Could Raise Difficult Questions for Archie and Lilibet

Prince Harry’s long-running fight over police protection has taken on another dimension since he and Meghan Markle returned to the United Kingdom with their children.

With Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet now attending school in Britain, former royal protection officer Ken Wharfe has warned that the decision facing the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as RAVEC, could become considerably more complicated if the Sussexes’ request for greater security is rejected.

The warning comes after two men carrying backpacks were reportedly seen near Archie and Lilibet’s school. Police later established that they were believed to be photographers working for a European press agency. The incident has renewed questions about how effectively the Sussexes’ current private security arrangements can respond to potential threats.

A new security concern after the family’s return to Britain

Harry and Meghan returned to the UK with Archie and Lilibet in August 2026 after spending several years in California. Their return has been accompanied by renewed discussions about the family’s security arrangements, particularly because the children are now attending school in Britain.

The couple had already changed the children’s school shortly after the start of term. The decision followed discussions with their security team, which had raised concerns about the practicalities of the daily journey, including heavy traffic and the amount of time the family could potentially spend stationary on the road.

The children have since settled into their new school, with Harry saying on September 26 that Archie and Lilibet were happy there and that returning to Britain had been a positive experience for the family.

But the situation changed again when two men were reportedly spotted around the school. According to reports, the men walked around the perimeter, stopped to look into the grounds and were seen monitoring activity at the school.

Their presence prompted police involvement. A white van associated with the pair was identified as a rental vehicle, and the men were understood to be international photographers working for a European agency. The school’s location has not been publicly identified.

Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson described the photographers’ behavior as an unacceptable intrusion into the children’s privacy and said their conduct around a school was extraordinarily reckless.

Ken Wharfe points to the difference between private and police protection

Against that backdrop, Ken Wharfe has offered his perspective on the Sussexes’ security needs.

Wharfe, who previously served as a royal protection officer, discussed the issue with Storm Huntley and Alexis Conran on Daytime on 5. His central point was that protecting Harry when he travels alone is a different proposition from protecting him, Meghan and two young children as a family.

The presence of Archie and Lilibet changes the practical considerations, particularly when their daily routines include school travel and other predictable movements.

Wharfe also focused on what happened outside the children’s school. While the two men were ultimately understood to be photographers, he noted that security personnel cannot necessarily know the intentions of someone who appears at a school and remains there without an immediately clear reason.

He referred to the possibility of what security professionals describe as fixated individuals, meaning people who may arrive at a location without a clearly established purpose and whose intentions may be difficult to assess.

For Wharfe, that uncertainty is one of the reasons the distinction between private security and police protection matters.

The expertise gap could become important

The Sussexes currently employ private security personnel, but Wharfe argued that such a team does not necessarily have the same capabilities as police protection.

Private security officers and police officers operate under different systems, with different access to information and different responsibilities. In Wharfe’s view, that distinction becomes particularly significant when the people being protected include young children whose movements can be predictable because of their school schedules.

The recent school incident has therefore added another element to an already complicated security debate.

RAVEC is conducting a formal review of Harry’s security arrangements following his return to living in the UK. Meghan is also undergoing her own review. ITV News reported in September that RAVEC had decided Harry should receive a full review now that he is resident in Britain and Archie and Lilibet are attending a British school.

The committee’s review is significant because Harry and Meghan are no longer working members of the Royal Family. Their publicly funded protection became a major point of dispute after they stepped back from royal duties in 2020.

Harry has continued to argue that he and his family need greater protection while in Britain, while the question of whether that protection should be publicly funded remains under consideration.

Why the children could complicate RAVEC’s decision

Wharfe believes RAVEC will face particularly difficult questions if it ultimately refuses Harry’s request.

His argument centers on what could happen if Archie or Lilibet were subjected to a serious security incident. He suggested that any attempt to harm or kidnap either child would create difficult questions for the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office about whether the risks had been properly assessed.

That does not mean such an incident is expected. Rather, Wharfe was pointing to the consequences that would follow if the authorities determined that the family’s security arrangements had been insufficient.

The recent events at the school have made that argument more immediate. What initially appeared to involve two men with backpacks was subsequently linked to photographers, but the episode demonstrated how quickly an unfamiliar presence around the children’s school could become a security concern.

The review comes at a significant moment for the Sussex family

The security review follows a series of developments since Harry and Meghan returned to Britain.

Their children have moved schools because of security concerns surrounding their daily commute. Their new school has now itself been the focus of a reported security incident. At the same time, RAVEC is reconsidering the family’s protection arrangements now that they are living in the UK.

For Harry, the issue has remained closely tied to his ability to bring his family to Britain safely. Earlier in 2026, security concerns had already affected plans involving Meghan and the children, before the family eventually returned to the UK together in August.

The latest incident therefore arrives as RAVEC considers not only Harry’s individual circumstances but the wider reality of his family living and attending school in Britain.

Wharfe’s intervention highlights the question at the heart of the review: how should the authorities assess the security needs of a former working royal when his wife and two young children are also part of his everyday life in the UK?

For now, that decision remains with RAVEC. Its assessment will determine what level of protection the Sussexes receive as they establish their family life in Britain.