Prince Harry will learn on Friday whether his bid to restore his UK police protection has been upheld, in an appeals court verdict that could determine how often the estranged royal visits Britain.
King Charles III’s youngest son has been embroiled in the years-long legal saga – one of many – since the UK government downgraded his security when he stepped down from royal life and left to live abroad with his wife, Meghan.
Since moving to California in 2020, Harry and Meghan have had a second child, Lilibet, a sister to Archie born in 2019, and rarely engage with the British royals.
But the prince says security concerns have hampered his ability to visit the UK and bring his family with him.
The government committee which handles protection for royals and public figures in 2020 decided he would not receive the “same degree” of publicly funded protection when in Britain.
After initially losing a case in the High Court challenging the decision last year, the Duke of Sussex, as he is formally known, was allowed to launch an appeal against the interior ministry.
His lawyers argue Harry was “singled out” for “unjustified and inferior treatment”, and that the committee did not fully assess the security threats when downgrading his protection.
Harry, whose older brother is heir-to-the-throne Prince William, has long been haunted by the 1997 death of his mother Princess Diana in a high-speed car crash as she tried to escape paparazzi photographers.
The prince has blamed the press for the tragedy, and cited intense media scrutiny as one of the reasons he and Meghan took a step back five years ago.
Fraught ties
In the two-day appeal hearing last month, Harry’s lawyers said the Sussexes had been threatened by al-Qaeda and involved in a “dangerous car pursuit with paparazzi” in New York City, as an example of the security dangers he faces.
“There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security and whose life is at stake,” the prince’s lawyer Shaheed Fatima said in concluding statements.
In a 2023 High Court hearing, Harry, a former British army captain who served in Afghanistan, said it was too dangerous to bring his family to the UK without bolstered security.
“The UK is my home,” he said.
“The UK is central to the heritage of my children. That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe.”
However, the High Court concluded that the government had acted lawfully in its decision.
In the appeal hearing, government lawyers said Harry’s security was meant to be “bespoke” to his “revised circumstances”, adding it was a result of his decision to spend less time in the UK.
Harry’s fraught ties with his family have worsened after various public allegations he and Meghan made against the royals.
Harry and his brother William are barely on speaking terms, according to UK media.
He has also hardly seen his father King Charles – who has been receiving treatment for an unspecified type of cancer – for over a year.
While Harry has maintained a relatively low-profile since 2020, Meghan has been boosting her online presence this year, having already launched a podcast and Netflix series as well as making a return to social media.
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By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse
