King Charles found it ‘extremely disappointing’ to learn Prince Harry told government officials before him about move back to Britain, source says

King Charles III was “angered” to discover that government officials knew Prince Harry was planning to move his family back to the U.K. before his father did, a royal source says.

Harry contacted Britain’s Home Office earlier this summer so officials could begin considering security arrangements for him, Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, Wonderwall.com has learned.

Charles wasn’t informed until days later — a development the source said the king found “extremely disappointing.”

“The king understands perfectly well why the appropriate authorities needed advance warning, particularly given Harry’s long-running concerns about security,” the source says. “What angered him and made him furious was discovering that officials apparently knew something as significant as his son’s return before he did.”

The source said Charles’ frustration wasn’t over Harry alerting officials but rather over learning that his son had shared such a major decision with them first.

“After everything that has happened between them, Charles regarded that as extremely disappointing,” the source says. “This isn’t some routine visit lasting a couple of days — Harry is bringing his wife and children back to Britain.”

The family’s return has reportedly led to a fresh examination of Harry’s security arrangements, which changed after he and Meghan stepped back as working royals in 2020.

Harry and Meghan lost their automatic, taxpayer-funded police protection after stepping back as working royals. A return to Britain could change the security equation.

Former royal protection chief Dai Davies recently told Britain’s Daily Mirror that Harry establishing a known British residence and sending his children to school creates different circumstances than his previous visits to the U.K.

“The whole risk assessment will have to be reviewed,” Davies said. “I wonder, given the short notice, has anybody worked it out for them? Because even me, who has been very opposed to him getting protection as a non-royal, now I think the whole scenario is changing,” he added.

Davies also warned that protecting a permanent family home could require security modifications and specialized vehicles, as well as arrangements surrounding Archie and Lili’s school.

“It’s going to cost a huge amount,” he said.

Harry has spent years fighting to regain the automatic police protection he lost after stepping back as a working royal.

His legal challenge over the decision ultimately failed in 2025, but his security situation is now being reassessed as his circumstances change.

The Royal and VIP Executive Committee, known as RAVEC, is expected to consider the Sussex family’s security arrangements — reportedly this week — following their arrival in Britain on August 26.

Harry is awaiting the conclusion of a threat assessment that will help inform whether he and his family should receive taxpayer-funded police protection while living in the U.K., The Guardian reported on September 8.

Harry — a 10-year British army veteran who did two tours in Afghanistan — has faced credible threats over the years, including from neo-Nazi groups and al-Qaida.

A second source, meanwhile, said “there is frustration because Charles and Harry had finally begun making some progress personally. The king wants a relationship with his son and particularly wants opportunities to see his grandchildren.

“Against that background,” the second source added, “finding himself further down the information chain than the Home Office was never going to improve matters.”

Despite the recent progress between father and son, Harry has not spoken to Charles since returning to Britain with Meghan and their children nearly two weeks ago, royal sources told the Mirror in a fresh report published September 8.

The outlet reported that Charles and Prince William were together at Balmoral in Scotland when Harry informed his father that his family was moving back to Britain — just three days before news of the relocation became public.

Royal sources told the Mirror that the king and the rest of the royal family were “blindsided” by the Sussexes’ move.

“Harry has spoken openly about desperately wanting reconciliation and yet he is the one keeping his father and his family in the dark about major developments such as moving back to the U.K.,” a source told the Mirror.

“Such behavior just makes it harder to deal with the Sussexes or know their true motives for moving their entire lives back to Harry’s homeland. The whole family are perplexed about the situation.”