Prince Harry’s return to Britain with Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet was supposed to mark the beginning of a new chapter.

Instead, one of the oldest problems surrounding his life in the UK has followed him straight back.

The Sussex family has returned to Britain after six years based primarily in the United States, with their children enrolled in British schools and a new non-royal residence being established outside London. Yet the security arrangement awaiting Harry appears far more limited than the one he had hoped might accompany such a significant change in his circumstances.

According to the Daily Mail, Harry and Meghan have not been granted taxpayer-funded police protection following their arrival. Instead, they reportedly received the contact details of a police liaison officer.

That distinction matters.

The Sussexes arrived at Birmingham Airport on a Bombardier Global Express XRS after flying from Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles. Around 20 minutes after landing, they left in a Mercedes-Benz V220d worth approximately £80,000.

There was no publicly funded police convoy accompanying them.

Responsibility for their immediate protection instead rested with Harry’s longtime security adviser David Langdown, who has known the duke for at least 15 years and is understood to have assembled a team of trusted British private protection personnel.

For Harry, this is not simply a question of convenience.

Security has been one of the most persistent disputes surrounding his relationship with Britain since he and Meghan stopped working as senior royals in 2020.

His level of protection changed after that decision, eventually leading to a long-running legal battle with the Home Office over how he and his family should be protected when they are in the UK.

The situation had even influenced whether Meghan, Archie and Lilibet accompanied him on earlier visits.

This time, however, the entire family has returned.

That makes the current arrangement particularly striking.

ITV reported that the Sussexes were given the phone number of a police liaison officer but were told their protection would not be increased beyond that arrangement.

Harry is reportedly unhappy.

He has instructed his lawyers to write to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood asking her to intervene.

But the matter may not be completely settled.

Mahmood has reportedly ordered a fresh review of the terror threat facing Harry and his family, while Home Office officials are said to be “actively assessing” the case again now that the Sussexes have chosen to reside in Britain rather than simply visit from California.

That change in status could prove important.

Harry reportedly gave the Home Office 28 days’ notice of his intention to return after a risk assessment was completed at the end of July. At the time, he had apparently not yet been informed of Ravec’s conclusions but remained confident that the level of protection he received would change.

So far, it has not.

Ravec — the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures — makes individual protective-security decisions involving important public figures and members of the Royal Family. Its participants include the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and Royal Household.

The fact that Harry is now living in Britain again has triggered another assessment.

A government source said officials had been asked to reconsider the situation because “the family in question have chosen to reside in the UK.”

Former royal protection officer Scott Hamer has gone much further in his criticism.

Hamer, who previously provided protection for Charles when he was Prince of Wales, called the current arrangement “absolutely incredible.”

He argued that the Sussexes were being put “in danger” and pointed out that former prime ministers continue to receive publicly funded police protection.

In his view, if decisions are genuinely based on threat and risk, Harry should qualify for protection.

The controversy comes at a particularly sensitive moment because the Sussexes are not simply making another short visit.

They are establishing a UK home while maintaining properties in California and Portugal, effectively building what has been described as an “international” family life.

Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, have been enrolled in British schools and are preparing to begin classes.

That decision gives Harry’s security dispute a different weight.

A temporary visitor can restructure plans around security concerns.

A family whose children attend school has routines, regular journeys and a far more predictable presence.

Harry’s return also follows a significant family development.

Only a month earlier, he and Meghan brought Archie and Lilibet to Highgrove to see King Charles. It was reportedly the first time the King had seen his grandchildren in person in approximately four years.

People magazine has since suggested that Charles hopes to see Harry and Prince William “together over time,” although the brothers remain estranged.

Sources close to Harry have also said he “never really stopped missing home” and wants Archie and Lilibet to understand where he grew up and where their family comes from.

Meghan is said to appreciate being able to give the children the opportunity to experience “both worlds.”

That makes the security issue one of the defining contradictions of their return.

Harry has brought his family back because Britain now appears important enough to become part of their everyday life again.

But he has returned without the police protection he once believed was essential to making that life safe.

There is also a financial contrast surrounding the move.

The family arrived aboard a private jet chartered through Planet Nine Private Air, with the aircraft reportedly costing approximately $12,000 per hour to hire. They then left the airport in a high-end Mercedes with private security.

Harry can therefore purchase significant private protection and travel arrangements.

What he cannot purchase is the same access, intelligence and authority available to British police — the distinction at the heart of his longstanding argument.

That is why the phone number of a liaison officer has become symbolically important.

It represents the gap between Harry’s expectations and the system currently willing to protect him.

The Sussexes are back.

Their children are preparing for school.

Their UK home is being established.

But the question that complicated Harry’s previous visits remains unresolved.

And until the latest threat assessment is completed, Harry’s new life in Britain may continue to depend on a security arrangement he clearly believes is not enough.