Archie and Lilibet switch schools after two days on security advice
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet left their first British school after two days last week and will join another nearby school instead.
The children, aged seven and five, started term with their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, back in the United Kingdom. They visited the second school for a taster session on Monday, 14 September 2026, and will now enrol there, according to HELLO!.
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess told HELLO! the switch followed a discussion with the family's security team about the practicalities of the current arrangements. The decision was taken on that team's advice.
The issue was the journey, not the classroom. Sources close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle told HELLO! there was no problem with the first school itself, only with getting the children there and back.
Heavy traffic in the area and the distance between the first school and where the family are living put pressure on their private security team. The team's bodyguards had checked the first school during the summer holidays. They could not properly test the school run until term began.
An incident in which the Sussexes' vehicles could not stay together in convoy added to the concern about that route. After the first two days, the family acted.
Prince Harry was seen settling Lilibet in at the new school. The couple have been added to parents' WhatsApp groups there.
The move comes with a wider security step. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been granted her first government-backed security review since she and Prince Harry stepped back from royal life in 2020.
The review will be carried out through the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, the government body that decides taxpayer-funded protection for public figures. The committee has asked Harry and Meghan to provide details of daily routines, including the school run, so it can assess any change in the threat they face.
The school change follows the family's return to Britain after six years in the United States. The Sussexes moved back two weeks before Archie and Lilibet were reported to have started school, according to The Independent.
People, which first reported the return, said the couple were "happy to be back" in the U.K. with their children, in its exclusive. Archie is entering Year 3, the first year of junior school in England, while Lilibet is in Year 1, the second year of infant school. Their first school had been reported as a private prep school, a fee-paying primary, costing more than $35,000 a year, according to Page Six.
What makes this stand out is the speed. Two days in, drop-offs tested, route judged unworkable, new classroom found. For any parent reading on a phone at the school gate, that part will feel familiar. The difference is the convoy and the committee paperwork behind it.
