Prince Harry has finally won his years-long battle to guarantee taxpayer-funded security for his family while they are in the UK.
But while it’s a huge moment for the 41-year-old, the outcome might not be one that’s being celebrated by his wife, Meghan Markle.
A royal expert has weighed in on the momentous win for the Duke of Sussex, admitting that it might not be such a positive for the 44-year-old former actress.
Prince Harry’s UK security win is huge, but a royal expert believes it’s not such a great thing for Meghan. (Karwai Tang/WireImage)
“This puts Meghan in a rather awkward position, since I really don’t think she is eager to return to what she sees as a somewhat hostile environment,” royal author Christopher Andersen, who wrote the book Brothers and Wives, Us Weekly.
The Mail on Sunday reported Harry has won his bid for automatic taxpayer-funded armed police protection when he visits the UK, with the ruling expected to be announced officially in the coming weeks, according to the outlet’s sources.
The years-long legal fight started after the couple stepped down from their roles as senior working royals in 2020.
Harry has previously said that the lack of protection had stopped him from returning to the UK with Meghan and their two children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.
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The Duke of Sussex’s years-long legal fight started after he and Meghan left as senior working royals. (AP)
A royal expert believes if the couple do return to the UK, it will be for their children. (Getty)
“If Harry and Meghan do return to London with Archie and Lilibet, it will be so the children can begin to forge some sort of real relationship with their grandfather, the king,” Andersen explained.
But while Andersen believes that Charles is a “huge softy” with his grandchildren, it doesn’t mean the whole Sussex family would be happily welcomed back.
Andersen thinks Harry will “never be fully embraced” by the royal family” and allowed to come back with a semi-official role.
“That ship has sailed – and that goes double for Meghan,” he said.
Harry has previously said he won’t take his family back to the UK due to security concerns. (Instagram/ @meghan)
Harry’s fight for taxpayer-funded security to be available when they return to the UK has been going on for years.
In April 2025, he travelled to the UK for a two-day court case on the issue, but in May it was announced that Harry had lost the bid in court.
“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,” Harry wrote in a statement after the court decision went public.
The loss was something that hit the duke hard, admitting the lack of security is what stopped his family returning home.
“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” Harry told the BBC in a May 2025 interview.
“I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.”
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