The Duke of Sussex’s access to security when he visits the UK is being reviewed, sources have told the BBC.
In May, Prince Harry lost a legal case to have police protection restored when he visited the United Kingdom.
In a BBC interview after the ruling, he said it was not safe to bring his family back to the country of their birth because he could not guarantee their safety.
It is understood that a Home Office review will now look at whether he should automatically receive full police protection on visits to the UK, even though he is no longer a working member of the royal family.
According to The Sun newspaper, the process to reassess the duke’s threat level is already underway and a decision is expected next month.
King Charles had only met the children of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex once.
She last saw her grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, during the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022.
Prince Harry’s security was reduced after he stepped away from frontline royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States with the Duchess of Sussex.
In her legal challenge earlier this year, she challenged the decision-making process used by a committee called the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which authorizes the security of senior royals on behalf of the Home Office.
Ravec had concluded that since Prince Harry was going to be a rare visitor to the United Kingdom, his security needs would be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
But in doing so, the duke’s legal team argued that Ravec did not adequately reassess the threats he faced when considering his situation in 2020.
His lawyers had argued that he had been “singled out” for “inferior treatment”, but the court’s ruling confirmed that there was nothing illegal in the way the decision had been made.
A senior judge ruled that Prince Harry’s “sense of grievance” over how the decision to disrupt his security was made did not constitute a basis for a successful appeal.
That decision meant the duke’s security remained outside the automatic high level of protection afforded to senior royals.
Speaking to BBC News in California shortly after, Prince Harry said he was “devastated” to lose his appeal.
He also said any prospect of a return to the UK for him and his family was “impossible” in light of the Court of Appeal ruling, adding: “I don’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this time.”
At the time, Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been repeatedly and meticulously examined by the courts, reaching the same conclusion each time.”
A government spokesperson said: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
“It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about such agreements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect people’s safety.”
