Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have run into yet another problem with the schooling of their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, but netizens are simply not willing to empathize.
In mid-September, the couple pulled the kids from the first school they were enrolled in after returning to the UK, citing security and logistical issues.
Highlights
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently complained about “extremely reckless” paparazzi behavior endangering their children.
- Some social media users theorized that they made up the story to force the authorities to reinstate police protection.
- The Sussexes have been previously told that paparazzi issues would not be part of their taxpayer-funded security.
Now, they have claimed that paparazzi have been spotted near their current school and called the situation “extraordinarily reckless.”
However, social media users have once again theorized that the complaint is nothing but the couple’s “same old trick” to secure media attention.
“People hate you more every time you do your circus. Your children will hate you too. Your children will be traumatized,” one angry user said.
European photographers were recently spotted near Archie and Lilibet’s school
After the previous security debacle, Archie and Lilibet were enrolled in a new school, which they have attended for the past two weeks.
On September 30, a Team Sussex spokesperson told news outlets that two young men carrying backpacks were spotted walking the perimeter of the new school by the couple’s private security and school staff.
They were initially seen separately before meeting up and returning to a white van parked nearby.
UK police later determined the white van was a rental, hired using a driver’s license belonging to an international photographer working for a European press agency.
“There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day,” the spokesperson said.
“It is concerning enough that certain European paparazzi appear unwilling to respect the privacy of children at school. But to behave in this manner in these particular circumstances, and so soon after the incident at RAF Fairford, demonstrates an extraordinary lack of judgment.”
“Whatever photographs they may have been seeking, this was not only an unacceptable intrusion into the privacy of children; it was an irresponsible and ill-considered way to conduct themselves in the vicinity of a school,” it concluded.
The RAF Fairford incident mentioned in the statement refers to the arrest of five men on September 27 for allegedly committing offenses under the Explosives Act near the air base in Gloucestershire, England, operated by the US military.
Before releasing the suspects on bail, authorities had extensively searched the three white vans that they used to arrive at the location, but no explosive devices were found.
Harry and Meghan were accused of making up the “paparazzi” issue to fabricate a link with the RAF Fairford incident
With Harry and Meghan’s complaint closely following the RAF Fairford incident, a social media user accused them of using details of the case to fabricate a security threat and force the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures’ (RAVEC) hand.
“Not only did they use the same old trick about ‘paparazzi’ that was already ruled by the High Court as not RAVEC's problem, but now they also use the RAF accident SEO ‘white van’ for their stunt! It's beyond disgusting,” the person said.
Many netizens agreed with the accusation, with one saying, “They are using their own children.”
The user also shared screenshots of a UK High Court judgment document from February 2024 regarding Harry's legal challenge against the Home Department and RAVEC over his taxpayer-funded police protection.
“RAVEC is concerned with security against persons bearing a hostile intent towards an individual, not those who, however recklessly, may cause danger in their efforts to get a photograph of a celebrity that they can try to sell to a media outlet,” the document read.
The court was reported as being understanding of Harry’s feelings regarding paparazzi because of his mother Princess Diana’s demise.
Public-funded police protection is a royal perk that Harry and Meghan lost, along with their titles, right to royal residence, and several other benefits, when they stepped down from their roles and left for the US in 2020.
Harry has been trying to reinstate police protection since their UK return, despite losing the battle twice before, and his appeal is currently under review as RAVEC conducts a risk assessment of the couple’s travel patterns and their children’s school routes.
Meanwhile, the family has reportedly been given only the phone number of a local police liaison officer to call in case of an emergency — an arrangement Harry has previously criticized as inadequate.
More netizens blasted Meghan Markle for allegedly turning her kids’ lives into a “nightmare”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been getting constant flak for the controversies surrounding the kids. Many have found their behavior at odds with their demands for privacy and heightened security.
After the recent paparazzi allegations floated, one user said, “You said the place was dangerous for years… then you drag your kids back, destabilize their lives (after stripping them of the ability to get official royal training), and make their lives even more of a nightmare.”
“This woman is so deranged and thirsty for media attention, she can't seem to accept that the public and media don't care. Meghan is not Diana and will never have the Diana level of paps chasing her,” wrote another.
“If we, normal people, can see the deceit from a mile away, hopefully RAVEC can too,” said a third.
“I find it incredibly presumptuous that a ‘paparazzi’ is immediately trying to get photos of their kids when, I’m sure, other children of private citizens also go to school. I still think it’s fake or a setup,” a fourth speculated.
While the Sussexes have not revealed where they’re staying in the UK or which school their kids are attending, Meghan has posted several videos of Archie and Lilibet in the area near their temporary Cotswolds residence.
Royal Expert Kinsey Schofield has called the act “striking” in its “hypocrisy,” given that they have also reportedly said the children’s daily school runs were “the biggest area of concern.”
“If privacy is genuinely the priority, the most effective strategy is simple… stop broadcasting your family life to millions of strangers,” said Schofield. “You cannot deliberately feed that machine and then act astonished or outraged when people want to know more.”
"They should just go live somewhere where no one can find them," one user fumed
