Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to publish a detailed itinerary before their Nottingham visit has prompted questions over security and the motives behind their first joint public engagement in Britain since returning in August.
Royal Editor Rebecca English said the advance release of the couple’s movements was highly unusual, as timings for royal engagements are not normally disclosed beforehand because of security concerns.
The Sussexes visited three charities in Nottingham last Thursday, returning to the city where they made their first official appearance as an engaged couple nearly nine years ago.
However, a detailed schedule setting out where they would be and when was published by local news website Nottingham Live the day before their arrival. Police later intervened when crowds blocked the couple’s car during the visit.
Speaking on Palace Confidential, English suggested the itinerary may have been issued by Harry and Meghan’s own team. As private citizens, the Sussexes are responsible for managing and promoting their own events.
“In light of what Harry and Meghan have said about serious concerns over their security, you have to question it,” she said.
English added: “Why are they doing this? They clearly want the crowds there. Are they trying to provoke a situation where there is an incident by encouraging people to come down there, and then saying afterwards: ‘Look, we didn’t have the police, we can’t handle it’?”
She said the decision made her question the couple’s motives, adding: “They are encouraging people to go down there. None of this makes sense unless, of course, you are quite suspicious of their motives.”
Senior Editor-at-Large Richard Kay agreed that it was “hard not to be cynical” about the Sussexes’ intentions, given Harry’s continuing effort to have his security reinstated.
Harry lost his automatic taxpayer-funded protection in 2020 after stepping back as a working royal and moving abroad. The decision was partly based on the fact that he would no longer be living in Britain full-time.
A new review of whether taxpayers should fund the couple’s protection is now under way following their return to the UK.
“Things could easily get out of hand,” Kay said. “How useful that would be in Harry’s ongoing debate about how he wants his full-time security reinstated. It’s hard not to be cynical about that process.”
