Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's UK move sparks new debate

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have returned to Britain with their children Archie and Lilibet years after they moved to US.

The royal couple’s return to Britain has reignited debate about whether taxpayers should foot the bill to protect him and his family.

The Duke of Sussex, who arrived in Britain last week with his wife Meghan and their two young children, had previously ruled out returning to his home country, citing security concerns.

They left Britain and quit royal duties in 2020 amid a royal family feud and Harry subsequently waged a years-long, ultimately unsuccessful, legal battle to retain UK taxpayer-funded security while living in California.

According to AFP, now back with their seven-year-old son, Prince Archie, and five-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet, he has reportedly been pushing for reinstated police protection.

However, when the family landed August 26 at Birmingham Airport, they had private security in place rather than police officers, according to British media.

"It's very surprising," Scott Hamer, an ex-protection officer for Harry's father King Charles when he was Prince of Wales, told AFP.

"There's probably people who are being protected now who are at less threat and risk than he is. So the question would be, why does he not receive that protection as well?"

The Sunday Times reported last week that Harry's lawyers wrote to interior minister Shabana Mahmood in August requesting she intervene.

The paper said he had lost faith in Ravec's ability to rule fairly on his security needs, citing sources close to him.

A government spokesperson said the protection system was "rigorous and proportionate" while noting its long-standing policy not to provide details of arrangements.

"Doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals security," the spokesperson added.

However, only six percent of the British public say Harry’s security should be fully taxpayer-funded while 63 percent believe the couple should pay for it, according to a poll last week for The i Paper.