Prince Harry‘s “biggest concern” about returning to the UK is an attack on the Royal Family, a former royal staffer has claimed. The Duke of Sussex left his home country for the US back in 2020 after he stepped down as a senior working royal.

Harry’s relationship with the royals has been frosty since his bombshell exit and subsequent claims against them. One of the Duke’s main issues with coming back to the UK is his security – something he has sued the UK Government for after the Home Office downgraded the level of protection he gets when he visits the UK after his 2020 exit.

Harry lost the case with High Court judge Sir Peter Lane finding that “there has not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision” to revise his security. But he is set to appeal next month. Now, former royal butler Grant Harrold believes Harry’s biggest concern is an attack on his family because of his love-hate relationship with the British public.

Speaking on behalf of Techreport.com, Mr Harrold, who worked as King Charles’s butler from 2004 to 2011, said: “I think Harry’s biggest concern about returning is anyone trying to attack him or his family because there is a love-hate relationship between him and the British public.

“He will be worried about that relationship, there is always a risk and that will always be in the back of his mind. This is potentially the biggest reason he won’t return but I think it’s also to do with his family. As he hasn’t got the protection here I’m sure it’s part of the reason he doesn’t want to return and he is worried about any assassination attempts on him or his family.”

In a statement issued to the High Court in 2023, Harry said that wants his children to “feel at home” in the UK but they cannot if “it’s not possible to keep them safe”.

He also called the UK his home and said that it was “with great sadness” that he and his wife Meghan “felt forced” to leave the country in 2020.

In an interview with ITV last year, the duke talked about his fear about why he has not considered moving back to the UK. He said: “It’s still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read.”

Elsewhere, Mr Harrold debated whether Harry should be entitled or have to pay for his own security. He said: “Being a member of the Royal Family is not his choice.

“He is born into that role, and he is one of the most famous people in the world, so I think he is entitled to some sort of security, but then, as a taxpayer, there is an argument that if he is not working in the UK, it is unfair.

“There is a fine line of why are we paying for his security, even former prime ministers still get security and he is a former working royal so you would think he is entitled to that. The other argument is that he is able to pay for his security in the United States, could he not pay for his own when they are in the UK.”