Meghan and – Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are reportedly furious that Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews received permission to increase security around their Berkshire home, calling it a double standard—especially after their own government-funded protection
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s irritation is sharpest not at who gets to move first, but at who gets to feel safe—at least, that’s how it’s playing out in the latest royal security dispute.
A source told RadarOnline.com that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aren’t happy that Kate Middleton’s sister, Pippa Middleton, and her husband, James Matthews, were granted permission to increase security around their Berkshire mansion. Harry and Meghan believe it amounts to a double standard.
The comparison stings more because their own situation was handled differently. After Meghan and Harry’s government-funded security was taken away following their departure from The Firm, the couple reportedly didn’t see the same level of protection extended to them.
“What infuriates Meghan and Harry is the double standard,” the insider said. “Harry and Meghan have no issue with Pippa and James being allowed to have this gate — if they feel they need protection, they should have it,” the source added.
James Matthews defends the security changes
While the Sussexes push back publicly through their frustration, Matthews has defended the need for extra measures. After an inquiry into the additional security measures, he said the upgrades were tied to the impact his family faces because of their public profile.
“There are implications for my family, due to their high public profile, which means there is a need for a higher level of security than would otherwise be the case if the circumstances were different,” Matthews said in a statement via Sky News.
“Therefore, to improve security for my family, before we moved in, I arranged for an electric security gate to be erected on the drive,” the businessman added. “Unfortunately there has been a continued need to enhance security.”
While Matthews frames it as a practical response to ongoing risk, the Sussexes’ grievance is rooted in fairness—who receives protection, and when.
Harry and Meghan’s security decision remains under review
Even with their government-funded security taken away, the British government is currently reviewing that decision. Jennie Bond, a royal expert, called the review a turning point.
“I think this is a big win for Harry and the review is what he deserves,” Bond told The Mirror. “He can’t change the fact that he is King Charles III’s son. He is also a former army officer who has taken part in armed conflict in Afghanistan during two tours of duty.”
Bond’s argument also connects Harry’s personal history to the present-day threat he believes his family could face.
She pointed to what Harry wrote in his book Spare. saying. “He has. foolishly many would argue. admitted killing 25 Taliban [in his book Spare]. That admission must only have made the target already on his back even bigger. So. I think he has legitimate concerns about his security and the risk his family could face if he brings them to the U.K.”.
Bond also contrasted Harry’s circumstances with those of other powerful figures in Britain: “If our eight surviving former Prime Ministers are entitled to a high level of security [in some cases round the clock] then I think Prince Harry has the right to ask why he is not entitled to the same when he is in this country. she said.
Security at the center of Harry’s rift
In Bond’s view, security isn’t just a logistical issue—it sits at the heart of why Harry and his father, and the rest of the family, have remained so far apart.
“Security worries lie at the very heart of Harry‘s estrangement from his family here,” Bond said. She added that Harry has described the dispute as the sticking point in any reconciliation with his father. and that he viewed the court’s decision against him as “an old-fashioned establishment stitch up.”.
For now. the Sussexes’ anger over Pippa and James Matthews’ permitted security upgrade continues to land in the middle of a much larger question: whether Harry’s family should be protected in the same way others in public life are—especially when their decision-making is being reviewed and the stakes remain personal.
Meghan Markle Prince Harry Pippa Middleton James Matthews Berkshire security royal security review King Charles III Kate Middleton Jennie Bond Spare The Mirror