For six years, one practical reality has shaped Prince Harry’s relationship with Britain: he no longer receives the same automatic armed police protection he once had as a full-time working royal. That gap has made every potential return trip—and any idea of bringing Meghan, Archie and Lilibet with him—feel less like a family visit and more like a security calculation.
Now, a pivotal step has been taken that effectively unlocks a possible route back. On December 8, 2025, the UK Home Office ordered a full reassessment of Harry’s security risk and threat level—despite his loss in a May 2025 court ruling about his UK protection arrangements, according to reporting from major UK outlets including the BBC and Reuters.
That Home Office instruction matters because it is not merely a paper exercise. It triggers a structured process inside the government’s protective-security framework, with RAVEC (the committee that oversees protective security for senior royals and public figures) expected to complete its review via its risk-management process in January 2026. In other words, the “fate” at the heart of Harry’s family dilemma has, in practical terms, been set on a track toward a near-term outcome: either a pathway for safer UK visits opens up—or the family’s US-based life becomes the default for the foreseeable future.
A court loss that exposed what had not been done
Harry’s legal challenge in 2025 did not restore his previous level of state-backed protection. But the proceedings drew attention to a key point: a full, formal reassessment of his risk profile had not been carried out for years after the 2020 decision to change his security status when he stopped being a working royal.
That’s why the Home Office’s December 2025 order is being treated by observers as a “door opening,” even if it does not guarantee a favorable result. A reassessment is the mechanism that can change a security posture—especially if new incidents, intelligence, or patterns of threat escalation are considered.
Why the risk question hasn’t gone away
The security debate around Harry is not theoretical. It is rooted in his profile and in the claim—raised publicly in legal arguments—that hostile actors have referenced him. Past reporting on the case has also noted that Harry’s lawyers pointed to extremist threats and the fact that his fame and the public hostility that sometimes surrounds him can create unpredictable risk.
Harry has repeatedly argued publicly that he will not bring his family to Britain without adequate state-backed protection, framing the issue as an unavoidable condition for any meaningful UK return.
The incidents that sharpened the pressure
Concerns about vulnerability escalated after a September 2025 UK trip, during which a person described in reporting as a known stalker reportedly came close to Harry on two occasions in two days—once near a hotel ahead of a charity-related appearance, and again at a separate location. Coverage described Harry’s private security team intervening.
The episode intensified attention on the limits of relying purely on private security for a high-profile target in public spaces—especially when the risk involves sudden proximity rather than a plotted attack.
The family’s broader history with aggressive pursuit is also part of the context. In May 2023, Harry and Meghan said they were involved in a dangerous paparazzi chase in New York City, an incident that drew official comment at the time and reinforced their claim that intense attention can follow them across borders.
A rare father–son moment amid the dispute
Harry’s September 2025 trip also coincided with a widely reported private meeting with King Charles at Clarence House, described as a short tea meeting and notable because it was their first in-person encounter in a long stretch.
No verified public account exists of what was said. But the timing underscored the personal stakes: security is not just a legal argument for Harry—it is the gatekeeper to whether his children can spend meaningful time in the UK and with their royal relatives.
Archie and Lilibet—and what “return” would actually mean
Archie and Lilibet have been raised in the United States since 2020. Their connection to the UK, royal tradition, and even extended family has been intermittent, shaped by distance and by the security question.
They were last publicly associated with a UK royal gathering during the June 2022 Platinum Jubilee, when reporting described King Charles (then Prince of Wales) meeting Lilibet for the first time. Since then, birthdays and milestones have passed largely out of the UK public eye.
This is why the Home Office review is widely seen as deciding the family’s near-term “fate” in practical terms: if the security outcome is favorable, UK visits become more realistic; if not, the children’s UK exposure likely remains limited.
The “$120M return path” — what the number really refers to
The headline figure circulating in public discussion—$120 million—does not mean Harry is suddenly receiving a $120M payout, nor that a single fund is being “unlocked” by a security review. Instead, it reflects a broader, often-reported backdrop: longstanding speculation about royal-family trusts and inheritances, including reporting in prior years that funds associated with past royal estates (and trusts discussed in media coverage linked to the late Queen Mother) may have been large in total value across multiple beneficiaries.
What the security review can realistically “unlock” is not a check, but access—the ability to make regular UK trips, stay on secure royal property when appropriate, and rebuild the consistent family presence that typically precedes any practical relationship with royal institutions, advisers, and long-term arrangements. In that sense, security is the “key” that makes the broader royal-world pathway viable again.
What happens next
The reassessment ordered on December 8, 2025 is expected to conclude through the RAVEC process in January 2026, based on current reporting. That decision will not just set the terms of protection. It will effectively determine whether Harry can realistically bring Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet back to Britain with confidence—or whether the family’s American chapter remains, by necessity, the permanent one.
Until then, the most consequential development is already in motion: after years of stalemate, the official process that can change Harry’s UK security status is finally underway—and with it, the first credible opening to a workable royal return in years.
Sources:
BBC News, “Prince Harry’s security in UK under review,” December 8, 2025
The Guardian, “Prince Harry’s UK security under government review, reports say,” December 8, 2025
Reuters, “‘Stalker’ twice came close to Prince Harry on recent UK trip,” October 6, 2025
NY Post, “Prince Harry’s stalker came within feet of the duke during recent UK visit,” October 6, 2025
BBC News, “Prince Harry tells BBC he wants ‘reconciliation’ with Royal family,” May 2, 2025
ITV News, “Prince Harry and the King reunite over tea for first meeting in months,” September 9, 2025