𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham has insisted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s security is a “private matter” ahead of their bombshell return to Britain. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit the Royal Family for a new life in the US in a move dubbed Megxit more than six years ago.

But it has emerged that the pair are returning to the UK later this month in a surprise move. During a visit to West Yorkshire, the Prime Minister was asked if the Government would fund their security.

Mr Burnham said: “Well, this is a private matter. It’s a matter for Harry and for Meghan, and we wish them well in the moves that they’re making.”

There have been long-running tensions over Harry’s security, with the Duke last year losing a legal battle with the Home Office after his level of taxpayer-funded protection changed when he stepped down as a working royal.

At the end of June, he was still waiting for a review by the Risk Management Board, part of the process by which the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) rules on his security requirements.

Individual decisions on protective security for key public figures – including members of the royal family – are made by Ravec, which includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Royal Household, who advise an independent chairperson.

The Sussexes will live in a non-royal residence outside of London and are not returning to royal duties, while Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet have already enrolled in British schools.

The King is understood to welcome the opportunity to see more of the family in a private and personal capacity.

But there are questions over how Prince William and Princess Kate will react to their return.

William – the future king – is estranged from his brother after Harry’s repeated public criticism in the Megxit years.

Harry and Meghan’s surprise move comes as their popularity with the British public is low.

A YouGov poll found last month that only 22% of Britons see Meghan in a positive light, compared with 65% who hold an unfavourable opinion of the former actress, with 33% seeing Harry positively and 58% negatively.

The Sussexes will retain their homes in Montecito, California, and Portugal.