Key Takeaways
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle condemned photographers who allegedly walked the perimeter of Archie and Lilibet’s new school and looked inside, calling their conduct “extraordinarily reckless.”
- Police identified one man as an international photographer working for a European press agency after school staff and the Sussexes’ security team reportedly saw two men return to a rented van.
- The incident renewed the couple’s security concerns shortly after they moved their children to another British school, though authorities found no link to a separate investigation at RAF Fairford.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have already moved their children to a different school over security concerns. Now, they're condemning photographers reportedly spotted walking around the grounds of the new school.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex issued a sharply worded statement after two men were observed near the school attended by Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. According to People, the men were seen walking the school’s perimeter separately, stopping to look inside before meeting up and returning to a white van. Both school staff and the family's private security reportedly witnessed the activity.
Police subsequently identified one of the men through the driver's license used to rent the vehicle. He was identified as an international photographer working for a European press agency.
The Sussexes' spokesperson wasn't interested in debating whether the men were simply doing their jobs.
“The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless,” the spokesperson said. “There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day.”
The incident comes barely a month after Harry and Meghan returned to Britain with their children on Aug. 26. Archie and Lilibet began attending school in the U.K. for the first time, only to switch schools two days into the term following discussions with the family's security team about their commute.
At the time, a spokesperson said the decision concerned “the practicalities of their current arrangements,” stressing that it wasn't a reflection of the children's previous school or its staff.
The spokesperson also pointed to a separate incident at RAF Fairford, a military air base in Gloucestershire, where police arrested five men on Sept. 27 after receiving reports of suspicious vehicles.
Police later released the suspects on bail. No connection has been established between that investigation and the photographers at the children's school.
“It is concerning enough that certain European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect the privacy of children at school,” the Sussexes' spokesperson continued. “But to behave in this manner in these particular circumstances, and so soon after the incident at RAF Fairford, demonstrates an extraordinary lack of judgment.”
The school reportedly also serves children from American families connected to a nearby U.S. military installation. Its location, like that of the Sussexes' new British residence, remains private.
The incident brings Harry's longstanding concerns about his family's safety back into focus. Before returning to Britain, he had publicly questioned whether he could safely bring Meghan and their children to the country without adequate security arrangements.
A source close to the couple previously told People that settling Archie and Lilibet into their new surroundings “has been, and remains, their focus.”
