Remember when the Sussex fam lived in Montecito and we would only hear about their security once in a blue moon? The stories were always like “someone tried to break into their property but the person was stopped by the gate and private security.” Now that the family is living in the UK, every day brings some new hysterical screed. We’re told that British taxpayers don’t want to pay for the family’s protection and that Meghan needs to provide detailed schedules of her planned movements to the government. People leaked Meghan’s cell phone number, her texts and details about her children’s school run to the tabloids. Speaking of, Sky News reports that police are investigating some shady characters who have been surveilling Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s school.
Police are investigating two men who were seen surveilling the British school attended by Harry and Meghan’s children. It’s understood the individuals could be international paparazzi photographers. The men had been spotted carrying backpacks, and the incident has heightened Harry and Meghan’s concerns for the safety of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The Sussexes’ children were moved to the new school after the family’s private security guards became uncomfortable with the safety of the school run to their first-choice school. They’ve been attending the new premises for the last two weeks.
A van used by the two men was seen near the new school and has now been identified as a rental vehicle after the registration plate was sent to local police. It’s thought officers have now identified the driver’s licence used to make the reservation and discovered it belonged to an international photographer.
While the British press have shown restraint and have abided by a request from the Independent Press Standards Organisation not to identify the location of the school and the Sussexes’ current home, the same rules do not apply to photographers working for media outlets overseas.
Those with knowledge of the incident have confirmed to ITV News that the two individuals were seen “scouting out” the children’s school before driving away in their rented vehicle. One insider said the men had been “doing reconnaissance” on the school “for a number of hours” using a white van.
The details have also been passed on to the Home Office committee, known as RAVEC, which is currently assessing Harry and Meghan’s claim for police protection while they are living in the UK. Currently, British authorities have only provided the duke and duchess with the phone number of a police liaison officer.
Harry considers that to be “zero security” as it would take police many minutes to reach him and his family should they face an attack. The Sussexes do employ private security guards but they are unable to carry guns and do not have access to any state-level intelligence. ITV News is not naming the school, nor the police force which is carrying out the inquiries into the suspicious behaviour.
Yep, this was always the work-around for the British press – using international press and foreign paparazzi to do their dirty work. Sure, the Sun and the Daily Mail cannot flatly identify Archie and Lili’s school or publish photos of the kids without their parents’ permission. But a French publication could. An Italian publication could. And the British papers would then cover the “security breach” and – for journalistic reasons – identify the school and maybe even publish some of the international tabloid covers. I hope Prince Harry gets this BS out of his system fast because this was always going to happen. Notice how RAVEC and the Home Office are still slow-walking the f–k out of giving the Sussexes any kind of police protection too. In my opinion, it’s a pipe dream to think that the Sussexes will get any form of “royal protection” again.
The Sussexes’ spokesperson has now issued a statement about the paparazzi, per Sky News: A spokesman called it an “unacceptable intrusion” and said photographers were “walking the perimeter” of Archie and Lilibet’s school, “stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day…The decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school is extraordinarily reckless. It is concerning enough that certain European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect the privacy of children at school. 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.”
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s Instagram.
