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The family are due to return to England at the end of this month
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accelerated their planned move back to the United Kingdom after school places finally opened up for Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, GB News understands.
The children had been on a waiting list for some time, and the availability of their placements has cleared the way for the family's return. The specific schools are not being identified for security and privacy reasons.
The sudden move comes as the security committee responsible for protecting royals and public figures, Ravec, completes its long-awaited risk assessment for the family.
The review, carried out at the end of July, has raised the possibility that the Sussexes could yet receive state-funded armed police protection upon their arrival.
Harry has been pressing for the outcome ever since being formally notified that the evaluation was finished.
The duke’s security was last formally evaluated in April 2019, when he was placed at the maximum threat level - seven out of seven - putting him on par with Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prime Minister Theresa May.
Late last year, Harry secured the right to a fresh risk assessment in a major reversal by the Home Office.
While he lost his high-profile legal challenge against the Government over his security arrangements, the Court of Appeal ruled that a sense of grievance did not constitute a sound legal argument.
Nonetheless, Harry has privately written to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, urging her to reconsider the approach to his security.
Materials submitted to the review board included a 40-page threat assessment prepared by Harry’s private security firm.
It warned that a violent attack on Harry at a public gathering, such as the Invictus Games, could cause a "mass casualty event".
The document concluded that he faces an "elevated risk" on British soil, noting that five of six known domestic terror plots against him originated in the UK, with several convicted individuals now released from prison.
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It identified "lone actors" and "grassroots" terrorists as the gravest danger, fueled by hostility that portrays Harry as a "traitor."
While critics argue that non-working royals such as Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie manage without police protection, Harry maintains that his situation is unique. He views security as a necessity based on inherited, acute risk rather than a "perk of the job," pointing out that he remains the King's son and "a symbol of the crown".
He also regards the estimated £5million annual price tag for his family's protection as a negligible fraction of Ravec's total budget.
A Home Office spokeswoman told GB News: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
“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.”
