Prince Harry's return to Britain has proved quieter than many expected, but two key themes have already emerged: security and privacy, including disputes over media coverage following recent conflicts with the Daily Mail. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the U.K. on August 26 after leaving Montecito, California, where they lived for six years. There has still been no on-the-record comment from the Sussex camp despite widespread coverage in the U.K. media, but there have been disputes behind the scenes with the Daily Mail, a major tabloid rival.
Meanwhile, Harry's campaign to try to get his police protection reinstated continues with no sign yet that the British government will provide armed protection for the Sussex family. One of the most notable early signs of Harry and Meghan's U.K. relocation strategy has been the absence of any on-the-record statement from either the couple or their spokesperson explaining their reasons for moving. The decision appears designed to emphasize their desire for privacy in this new phase of their lives while avoiding accusations of hypocrisy.
Critics have frequently argued that the Sussexes seek privacy while also publicly discussing royal family matters. On this occasion, the couple has chosen to show their desire to avoid media coverage through their actions. At the same time, Harry and Meghan moved proactively in their dealings with the media by preemptively contacting the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) to ask for privacy, particularly around the location of their new home and the name of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's new school.
A major part of IPSO's role as Britain's press regulator is to adjudicate on complaints against newspapers, including over privacy and other issues, but it also sometimes warns news organizations ahead of publication when asked to do so by a person in the news. Their action in relation to the media has not all been preemptive, however, as the couple also complained internally over an article in the Mail that suggested they had visited Geri Horner, the former Spice Girls singer known in the 1990s as "Ginger Spice" and her husband, Christian Horner, who previously led the Formula One Red Bull team. The couple won a correction that read: "An article published on 24 August wrongly claimed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had visited Geri and Christian Horner at their home while visiting Britain in July, that the couples had discussed the Sussexes' return to Britain, that Prince Harry had been in regular contact with Christian Horner, and that the Duke and Duchess had developed a close friendship with the Horners.
We have removed the article and are happy to correct the record." Newsweek understands there was further conflict with the newspaper over another story that suggested Harry had been "spitting blood" over the royal rift and expected an apology from royal family members he considers to have wronged him and Meghan. Newsweek has been told the claim was false, though the newspaper has not published a correction. Regardless of the outcome of the dispute, the Sussexes have already sought to get on the front foot with the British press in the earliest days of their new U.K.-based life.
Perhaps the biggest immediate challenge facing the Sussexes is security, with Harry having previously said it was not safe in the U.K. for his family without armed police bodyguards. Newsweek understands the Home Office had not altered its long-standing policy by the time the couple arrived in the U.K. This means providing security only on occasion, typically official royal events for which the couple have an invite from Buckingham Palace.
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