Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have angered critics once again with their parenting, just weeks after returning to the UK with their son, Archie, 7, and daughter, Lilibet, 5.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly house-hunting in the Cotswolds for a nine-bedroom residence, where they will stay long-term until their children finish school.
Insiders previously claimed that the couple found a $35,000 public school for the kids and were happy with the atmosphere and the faculty.
However, Archie and Lilibet could attend classes for only two days before their parents pulled them from the school because of security concerns.
“Harry and Meghan should be ashamed of themselves. They keep using their kids as pawns,” one user commented.
Harry and Meghan pulled their children out of school due to difficulty with the commute
Sources close to Harry and Meghan told Hello! magazine in September 2026 that while they had no issue with the institution itself, the school commute proved challenging.
Although the Sussexes’ staff reviewed the situation over the summer holidays, their small, private security team was put under strain because of the distance between their residence and the school and heavy traffic in the area.
One incident in particular made it difficult for the vehicles to stay in convoy, a source said, without revealing any specifics.
“It’s a real shame, because they absolutely adored the school, the kids and their parents,” a friend of theirs told the outlet.
“It was perfect for them in every way, and the children really enjoyed their time there. They really wanted to make it work, but they had to make a difficult decision based on the fact that the team couldn’t make the school run operationally secure.”
A spokesperson for the Sussexes added, “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.”
“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 not be interpreted as a reflection on the school or the exceptional care the children have received there.”
Archie and Lilibet are reportedly to join a new school in the area after a taster session on Monday. Prince Harry was spotted settling his daughter into reception, and the couple has been added to the parents’ WhatsApp groups.
The update prompted a new wave of backlash against Harry and Meghan, which has become the standard since their 2020 exit.
“Harry is battling to have Buckingham-paid security,” one person said. Another wrote, “Meghan wants paparazzi there to build a narrative of danger, and get taxpayer-funded safety and lifestyle.”
Whether Harry and Meghan would receive police protection in the UK is currently being reviewed after lost court cases
The development comes amid claims that Prince Harry’s long-running demand for public-funded police protection for his family is now being “reviewed” in light of new information.
British media reported that the Duke and the Duchess have been informed by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) that “a decision” was made at a meeting last week to re-examine the threats to both of them after their return to the UK.
They have also been asked to provide details of their daily routines, including school runs, to evaluate any safety risks.
Harry and Meghan currently pay for a high-end private security team. However, unlike in the USA, British law does not allow their bodyguards to carry firearms, which many believe is why the Sussexes have been increasingly concerned.
ITV reported that, at the moment, the only police protection the Sussexes have been given is a liaison officer’s phone number, which they can call if they need help. However, Harry reportedly believes this is no protection at all, as the cops would be too late to arrive if his family were in immediate danger.
Harry has previously lost multiple legal battles against the UK Home Office, which deemed that he no longer had access to taxpayer-funded protection after he stopped being a working royal in 2020.
After losing an appeal on the same in May 2025, he told the BBC, “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.”
Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
But now they are back in the UK without any police protection so far, which makes their daily school runs “the biggest area of concern,” according to an insider.
Meghan Markle posted videos of her children playing in what seemed to be their current residential area just a day before the news of the security concerns emerged, and a royal expert called the act “striking” in its “hypocrisy.”
“If privacy is genuinely the priority, the most effective strategy is simple… stop broadcasting your family life to millions of strangers,” said Kinsey Schofield. “You cannot deliberately feed that machine and then act astonished or outraged when people want to know more.”
Harry and Meghan were recently blasted for being “spoiled, rotten brats” over back-to-back letter controversies
Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
Kinsey Schofield previously claimed that some private institutions in the UK sent a warning letter to other parents about new strict security rules after Harry and Meghan started looking for a school for Archie and Lilibet.
“The message sent to families essentially said that, from time to time, some families joining the school may attract a greater level of public or media interest,” the royal commentator told Page Six in August.
“It then reminded parents and carers not to photograph or film other children without permission, or share photographs, information or details about pupils or their families on social media.”
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Netizens did not approve of the move and called the couple out for being “entitled hellraisers.”
“I would immediately remove my children from the school,” one said.
Similar comments plagued the Sussexes more recently over the fiasco surrounding King Charles III’s letter of guidance to British officials reaffirming Harry and Meghan’s status as “private citizens” under the Sandringham Summit agreement.
The couple took issue with the label, preferring the term “public figures” instead. They were also “surprised” that they were not consulted about the letter before it was sent to the media.
“They are public figures,” one source close to them said. “Members of the public know who they are. The idea that they can live a normal, ‘private’ life is sadly not realistic.”
Many didn’t see it that way.
“Why would they want to be public figures when they want privacy?” one netizen said. Another wrote, “They chose to be commoners and regular citizens, so let it stay.”
“He needs therapy, and the kids need friends,” one reader commented
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