Prince Harry confirmed his two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are in school in the UK after they were pulled two days into their term over security issues.
“We’re getting stuck into the work. Kids are in school. We’re happy,” Harry told Hello! magazine at the Invictus Spirit Gala Dinner & Awards in London on Thursday, as he gave an update on the family’s “eventful” past two weeks since their return to the UK.
“And as I said, it’s great to be back on British soil, and looking forward to Birmingham next year for the Invictus Games that’s coming up,” he added.
Harry, 42, attended the gala without wife Meghan Markle.
As Page Six previously reported, the Sussexes pulled their two children from their ritzy $35K-a-year prep school after just two days due to a security risk earlier this week.
Heavy traffic to and from the school was straining their small security team, according to Hello! magazine.
“The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family’s security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements,” a rep for the couple told the outlet.
An insider also told the outlet that Harry and Markle, 45, had security checks completed at the school before the term but were unable to test the school run.
“It’s a real shame, because they absolutely adored the school, the kids and their parents,” the source said.
Harry and Markle enrolled their kids in a new school — but ran into more security troubles when the former “Suits” star’s personal phone number was reportedly leaked after joining a WhatsApp group for parents of the school.
Following an interaction between Markle and two moms in the group chat, the conversation, which included Markle’s phone number, was screenshotted by someone in the group. It was shared shared multiple times following the leak.
This came after Markle was reportedly granted her first government-backed security review.
Both Markle and Harry will receive an official risk assessment soon, according to the Telegraph, and they’ve been asked by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, or RAVEC, to provide full details of their new daily routines.
At the Invictus Spirit Gala Dinner & Awards on Thursday, Harry was asked by Hello! magazine if he had a highlight since his UK return, replying, “Oh, I don’t know. Would I dare share it with you?”
But Harry did gush over getting to have his family be apart of his Invictus journey in his native country.
“It’s great,” he told the outlet. “It’s wonderful to be back on British soil and really nice to see so many old faces and friends that came to this, and new faces as well, and new donors. And most of all, I guess, my Invictus family.”
“It’s been a very special journey over the last 12 years,” he continued. “So, yeah, all families.”
The “Spare” author also discussed how the gala raised more than €1.7 million ($1.95 million) for his Invictus organization.
“It’s been many weeks, months and years in the making,” he shared. “So to have a room full of 340 people and Invictus competitors from all around the world and their families, we did it. We got to tell some incredible stories and celebrate some amazing heroes. So yeah, I feel really happy that everyone came out and showed their support.”
Harry made his first comments about his UK return at the gala, telling People, “It’s good to be back on British soil.”
He was spotted walking into the event with two former Invictus competitors, while looking dapper in a black tuxedo and bow tie with his military medals on display.
The gala marked Harry’s first official appearance since moving back to the UK on Aug. 26.
The Sussexes relocated to the UK with their two kids six years after they stepped away from their royal duties and moved to Montecito, California.
Page Six reported that Harry moved back to be closer to his cancer-stricken father King Charles III, whom he briefly reunited with over the summer when Harry and his family took a trip to the UK.
However, Charles delivered a blow to the Sussexes about a week after they landed in England, when he released a statement clarifying the couple’s status as “private citizens with commercial and charitable interests” — not working royals.
Harry and Markle allegedly took issue with the label as they consider themselves “public figures.”
Shortly after, Uganda withdrew from the Invictus Games in “support” of the king — a decision that Harry allegedly blamed on his father’s announcement.
Read the full article here
