Earl Spencer has voiced his support for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle receiving taxpayer-funded police protection following their return to Britain.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Princess Diana’s brother expressed anxiety about his nephew’s safety in the UK.
“I would say that I personally worry about the fifth in line to the throne who’s served in the military not having any police protection,” he said.
The Earl drew a direct connection to the death of his sister in 1997, making clear that her fate informed his position on the matter.
Earl Spencer has voiced his support for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle receiving taxpayer-funded police protection following their return to Britain
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GETTY
“As an uncle who’s seen his sister die in very, very preventable circumstances, I would veer towards protection,” he told the programme.
His intervention comes as the debate over the Sussexes’ security arrangements intensifies following the family’s relocation back to the UK.
The Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as Ravec, met last week and is now expected to determine whether the Sussexes qualify for state-funded security in light of their permanent residence in Britain.
Its chairman contacted the Duke to confirm that fresh risk assessments had been commissioned, one for Harry and a separate evaluation for Meghan, given their changed circumstances.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, Princess Diana’s brother expressed anxiety about his nephew’s safety in the UK
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BBC
The couple relocated Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to a different school last week after just two days at their initial choice, reportedly due to security worries.
The Risk Management Board’s threat assessment is still pending, and the Duke is awaiting its conclusions before Ravec reaches a final determination on the family’s protection arrangements.
Harry’s automatic high-level security was removed when he departed the UK and relinquished his role as a working royal in 2020.
Ravec subsequently ruled that his protection would be handled on a case-by-case basis whenever he visited Britain, rather than being provided as standard.
Diana’s brother, 62, made the remarks before his memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, hits shelves on Tuesday
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BBCThe Duke mounted a protracted legal fight against the Home Office to have his former protections reinstated, but lost the case last May. He branded the outcome “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up.”
Decisions regarding protective security for senior public figures, including royals, fall under Ravec’s remit.
The committee comprises representatives from the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the royal household, all of whom advise an independent chairman responsible for final determinations.
Earl Spencer also addressed the fractured relationship between Prince Harry and the Prince of Wales, though he was careful to position himself as a neutral party.
“I’m on my deceased sister’s sons’ side, both of them. And if either of them wanted anything, then I’d be equally there for them,” he told the BBC. “And I never get involved in one camp or the other, except as a benign figure, I hope.”
He acknowledged there were “a lot of reasons on both sides” for the brothers’ estrangement, adding: “I hope one day it’s resolved.”
The Earl’s BBC appearance came amid a firestorm over his forthcoming memoir, due out on Tuesday, in which he alleges the King was “giddily elated” after Princess Diana died in Paris.
Buckingham Palace responded with a rare official statement, suggesting that “fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise.”