The Duchess of Sussex’s personal phone number has reportedly been leaked from a school parents’ WhatsApp group in yet another security concern for Prince Harry and Meghan in the three weeks since their return to the United Kingdom.
Meghan was added to the group the night before Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, started at their new school. British tabloid The Sun has published a purported screenshot of a text thread that originally included Meghan’s phone number. It had been shared multiple times, The Sun reported.
“Welcome to Meghan who has Archie joining tomo,” one mother wrote in the group, named “Year 3”. Meghan responded 11 minutes later, after another mother wrote, “Welcome !!”
“Hi moms! Thanks for the warm welcome,” Meghan seemingly wrote with a red heart emoji. “So happy to be a part of this community xx.”
Sources close to the Sussexes said it was “disappointing” that such information had been shared, the UK’s Mirror reported.
The leak comes after Archie and Lilibet switched schools after just two days of class due to security concerns. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed the move this week.
“The decision for the children to move school was taken following a discussion with the family’s security team about the practicalities of their current arrangements,” the spokesperson said.
“The parents remain extremely grateful to all the teachers and staff for the love, care and effort they have shown their family. This decision should in no way be interpreted as a reflection on the school or the exceptional care the children have received there.”
Citing sources close to the couple, HELLO! magazine reported that the distance between the children’s original school and their home, plus heavy traffic, had made it difficult for the Sussexes’ convoy to stay together during drop-off and pick-up.
The locations of Harry and Meghan’s new home, and Archie and Lilibet’s original and new schools, remain private. As agreed with the late Queen Elizabeth II before they moved to the United States in 2020, Harry and Meghan are not living in a royal residence and will remain non-working royals.
Security has long been a key point of contention between Harry and his father, King Charles III, and is partly why the Sussexes’ return to the UK in August came as such a surprise to the public.
It was, to an extent, even a surprise behind the walls of Buckingham Palace. The monarch is said to have been informed only days before their return made headlines, and the UK Home Office security committee was given less than two weeks’ notice amid fears the news would leak.
Harry and Meghan have previously spoken about death threats they have received, including in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and the couple’s six-part Netflix docuseries in 2022.
Although Harry and Meghan retain their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, when they resigned as senior working royals and moved to California six years ago, Harry was stripped of the automatic police protection afforded to other senior royals.
The prince then spent four years in and out of court arguing with the UK government over his family’s security arrangements, notably telling the BBC after a legal loss in May 2025 that he did not think it would be safe enough to bring his wife and children back to Britain.
“I would love reconciliation with my family,” Harry told the broadcaster. “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”
Buckingham Palace revealed in February 2024 that Charles had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. In December, Charles revealed his treatment had been moved into a precautionary phase and would be less frequent.
“I love my country, I always have done despite what some people in that country have done,” Harry continued in the May 2025 interview.
“I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show … my children my homeland.”
Charles confirmed in a strongly worded authorised letter sent to senior British officials and the media last week that Harry and Meghan were private citizens, though Harry’s security is under review by a government committee.
According to the couple’s spokesperson, Meghan’s security is also being looked at again for the first time since the royal resignation.
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Bronte Gossling is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAtoday and Brisbane Times.Connect via email.