Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s return to Britain will bring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet physically closer to the royal family, but the Sussexes reportedly have no plans to adopt one familiar practice associated with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children.
Harry and Meghan intend to maintain a firm line around their children’s privacy when Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, begin school in the U.K. this September. According to InStyle, citing new reporting from The Telegraph, the couple does not plan to release first-day-of-school photographs or traditional birthday portraits of their children.
That approach differs from William and Kate’s controlled releases marking milestones for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The Prince and Princess of Wales most recently published a new portrait when George turned 13 on July 22, followed later that day by a short video showing him during a family trip to the coast.
The reported privacy policy does not mean Harry and Meghan intend to stop sharing images of Archie and Lilibet altogether. Meghan posted an 11-photo “Summer Holiday” carousel in July that included both children, with PEOPLE documenting images of Archie in an airplane cockpit and Harry tossing Lilibet into a swimming pool.
Archie and Lilibet’s School and New U.K. Home Will Stay Private
The privacy plan extends beyond milestone photographs. Harry and Meghan have not publicly identified the school Archie and Lilibet are expected to attend, and the location of their reported new British residence is also being withheld.
PEOPLE reported that the children are due to begin school in Britain in September after previously attending school near the family’s Montecito, California, home. The Sussexes are expected to establish themselves in a private, non-royal residence while retaining their California property.
According to The Telegraph, British media organizations have been reminded of privacy rules and urged not to disclose either the family’s new address or the children’s school. Harry and Meghan also reportedly do not intend to formally announce the details of their move.
William and Kate Use Controlled Releases for Their Children’s Milestones
The Wales family’s approach is more public, but it is still tightly managed. For George’s 13th birthday, William and Kate released a Matt Porteous portrait taken at Kensington Palace after Trooping the Colour, showing their eldest son in a dark suit and open-collar white shirt.
A separate 18-second video followed later that day. It showed George playing cricket on a beach, spending time with the family’s dogs, taking a boat ride and climbing over rocks with younger brother Louis.
William and Kate have increasingly used similar photographs and short videos to mark birthdays and other family occasions themselves, allowing them to control what is released rather than giving unrestricted access to their children.
Meghan Raised School Privacy Concerns Years Before the U.K. Move
Meghan’s concern about school-related media attention predates the family’s reported return to Britain. During a 2022 interview with The Cut, she said she believed that if Archie attended school in the U.K., ordinary drop-offs and pickups could turn into royal media events.
She described imagining “a press pen of 40 people snapping pictures” and responded, “Sorry, I have a problem with that.” Meghan added that protecting her child from that kind of attention did not make her “obsessed with privacy,” but reflected how she viewed her responsibility as a parent.
The historical reality of royal school appearances is somewhat more controlled than the scenario she described. When George, Charlotte and Louis attended a settling-in afternoon at Lambrook School in September 2022, only three members of the media were present as an approved royal pool, one photographer, one television cameraman and one reporter.
Other media were excluded, and U.K. press rules restrict photographing children at school without appropriate justification. Previous first-day photographs of William and Kate’s children were likewise taken through limited arrangements agreed with the family and school.
The Sussexes Still Share Family Photos on Their Own Terms
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Harry and Meghan’s emphasis on privacy has never meant keeping Archie and Lilibet completely out of public view. Instead, the couple has generally chosen when, where and how images of their children are released.
Meghan’s “Summer Holiday” Instagram post in July offered one of the clearest recent examples. Archie appeared in an airplane cockpit wearing a captain’s hat, while another photograph caught Lilibet in midair as Harry tossed her into a pool. Other images showed the family spending time together during their travels.
The trip also brought Archie and Lilibet back to Britain. PEOPLE reported that the family visited Althorp, the Spencer family’s ancestral estate and Princess Diana’s burial place, before privately reuniting with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House. That reunion reportedly marked the first time Charles had seen Archie and Lilibet in more than four years.