Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's surprise return to the UK was never going to be plain sailing, and the Duke and Duchess appear to have hit the first bump in the road since their homecoming.
It was reported on Sunday that Prince Harry has accused the chair of the body which authorises protection for senior royals of not passing on information about a 2023 threat from al Qaida to his security staff or to the authorities in the United States.
Within the letter, Prince Harry's legal team is understood to have alleged that the head of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) was aware of a threat made by al Qaida, but did not pass this to Prince Harry's security staff or to the authorities in the United States, where he was living at the time.
© Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesIt is understood there have been at least six threats or plots concerning Prince Harry from the Taliban, al Qaida or their supporters since 2007.
The threats included plans to assassinate the duke in 2023 when he was based in the US, while in 2012, a Taliban spokesman announced an operation to kill or kidnap the prince.
Additionally, in 2010 there were threats to shoot down Harry’s Apache and capture him if he returned to Afghanistan, where he served in the war in 2007/8 and again 2012/3.
Prince Harry's plea for security
Ahead of their return to the UK, Prince Harry reportedly wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in August asking her to take a personal role in determining if his family receive close police protection, which was removed when they stepped down as working royals.
The battle has been ongoing since Meghan and Harry left the UK in 2020. At the time, he never suspected his security would be pulled, recounting in his memoir, Spare: "Meg asked me one night: 'You don't think they’d ever pull our security, do you?' Never. Not in this climate of hate. And not after what happened to my mother. Also, not in the wake of my Uncle Andrew."
© Getty ImagesPrince Harry continued: "He was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman, and no one had so much as suggested that he lose his security. Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren't on the list."
Despite his confidence that he would never lose his security while in the UK, that was what happened upon departure, and the Duke has been fighting ever since to regain security for his family. (Side note: Andrew stopped receiving taxpayer-funded protection in 2022, three years after he stepped back from public duties due to his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.)
Where the Sussex family will be living now that they're back on UK soil is not known. They flew into Birmingham in the Midlands, via a private jet – an interesting move as Prince Harry had been travelling on commercial flights when he visited.
© Samir Hussein/WireImageWith the safety and security of his family at the forefront of his mind, it makes sense that they chartered a private plane for their journey and perhaps this privately funded measure hints at how the duke will proceed in the family's new UK life.
