Prince Harry is to receive a government review of his security needs in the U.K., potentially paving a way forward for his family to reunite with King Charles III.
The U.K.’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC), which oversees government-funded security protection for the royal family and specific VIPs, has instructed its risk management board to conduct a review assessing Harry’s threat level upon visiting the U.K., The Sun reported on Monday, December 8. It will mark the first time his security needs will be assessed in six years after he and wife Meghan Markle stepped down as working members of the royal family in 2020.
According to the outlet, the review process is already underway, with evidence being collected from the police, the government and Harry’s team. A decision is reportedly expected in January 2026.
“The U.K. Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate,” a government spokesperson told Us Weekly on Monday. “It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
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Representatives for Prince Harry declined to comment.
In May, Harry, 41, lost an appeal to challenge the withdrawal of his government-funded security while in the U.K.
“This process has only ever been about ensuring my safety and that of my immediate family when we are in the United Kingdom, so that we may safely visit my home country with the same level of security that other governments deem necessary for our protection,” he said in a statement at the time. “My ask has been simple: that the standard protocols for security and risk assessments be applied to me in the same way they are to others — including people who have never carried out any public functions on behalf of the State.”
Harry and Meghan, 44, lost their security detail in 2020 after relocating first to Canada and then to the United States. His security needs are currently assessed on a case-by-case basis when he visits the U.K.
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In a May interview with the BBC, the Duke of Sussex said, given the security arrangements, “I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point.”
“I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done. … I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland,” he added.
But the new review could pave a path forward for Harry, Meghan and their children — Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4 — to return to the U.K. to visit their grandfather.
In May, Harry told the BBC that Charles, 77, “won’t speak to me” amid the legal issues over his security, but expressed his hope of repairing his relationship with his father.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has,” he said, appearing to refer to Charles’ 2024 cancer diagnosis.
Harry and Charles have since taken steps to mend their fractured bond, with Harry visiting Charles for tea during a September trip to the U.K.
“The meeting was sparked by a handwritten letter from Harry earlier this year to Charles expressing his desire to reconnect,” a source exclusively told Us at the time.
“They were not sure it was going to happen until just in the last week,” the insider continued, noting that the reunion was “super positive and very relaxed.”
“They were catching up personally about the children and what has been going on with Charles and his health,” the source added. “There were hugs and tears at the meeting.”
