Meghan Markle’s Phone Number Leaked in Echo of Harry’s Past Trauma - Newsweek

Meghan Markle signed up to a school WhatsApp group, sharing her cellphone number with the parent community, and a screenshot of her message has since appeared in the media. The news comes months after the conclusion of Prince Harry's lawsuit alleging phone hacking by the Daily Mail.

The Sun reported that the screenshot of Meghan's message has been shared multiple times, and that her personal number was available via the group. The newspaper suggested the incident was a security breach. Newsweek has separately confirmed Meghan did join a WhatsApp group, as reported by Hello! magazine this week.

Security around royal cellphone numbers has long been a major issue, dating back to a 2005 phone-hacking scandal in which private investigators and journalists targeted Harry and Prince William, among other high-profile figures.

Harry spoke in emotive terms about the subject in a 2023 witness statement, seen by Newsweek, from his own case against Mirror Group Newspapers.

"I was also shocked and disgusted to discover that my name and mobile number were in a contact list belonging to [a] known hacker," he wrote, adding that it was "further proof that I was a victim of voicemail interception and unlawful information gathering." Harry won the case and was paid damages by the company.

There is no suggestion that Meghan's phone has been hacked. However, the saga is the latest example of a mismatch between Harry's strongly worded statements about the family's security and Meghan's more relaxed actions. On Sunday, Meghan posted videos of the family's new life in the U.K., sparking a social media guessing game about their location. The couple had asked the media for privacy in relation to both their new home and school.

Meghan joined the Year Three WhatsApp group the day before her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were due to start school last week. Such groups are commonplace among parents at British schools, and according to The Sun, the Duchess of Sussex was introduced as mother to Archie.

According to a screenshot, Meghan wrote: "Hi moms! Thanks for the warm welcome [heart emoji]. So happy to be a part of this community xx."

Initially, nothing was published in the media about her presence in the group, which first emerged when Hello! reported the couple had pulled their children out of the school.

No account has emerged about the motive of parents who shared screenshots of Meghan's message or how widely her cellphone number was circulated. There is nothing to suggest malicious intent.

Archie and Lilibet were moved from the school because of security concerns around traffic jams in the area, which had led to the Sussexes family car being separated from the one containing their security team.

A Sussex spokesperson said: "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 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."

How seriously Harry and Meghan should take security around her cellphone number is a matter of debate, and some public figures might not treat it as a significant threat.

However, Harry has been campaigning for round-the-clock police protection of the kind he had as a working royal before he quit the palace in 2020 and moved to the U.S.

The prince's public statements on the subject have been strongly worded. In 2022, his legal representative said: "While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the Royal Family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the U.K. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home."

In May 2025, after losing a lawsuit against the British government over his police protection, Harry told the BBC, "I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point."

The family has since returned, and Harry is still trying to persuade the British government to reinstate his police protection team. Meanwhile, his team wrote to the Independent Press Standards Organization, Britain's press regulator, asking for privacy around the location of their new U.K. home and their children's school.

At the same time, their actions have not always appeared to match the high level of security they say they require.

Over the weekend, Meghan posted video clips on Instagram showing the family enjoying the British countryside, featuring a herd of deer, wellies splashing in a muddy puddle and a boating trip on a picturesque lake.

However, the window into their lives inspired social media commentators to attempt to identify the location of the footage, potentially posing a security threat.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Shakeema Edwards.