Prince Harry has lost a legal challenge against the Home Office over his right to pay for police protection when he visits the UK with his family.
According to a report by GB News, the Duke of Sussex, who now lives in California, argued that his private security team could not provide adequate protection without the assistance of the Metropolitan police. He said he was willing to cover the costs of police protection, which he lost when he stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
However, a judge at the High Court in London ruled on Tuesday that there was no basis for a judicial review of the decision to withdraw police protection from Prince Harry.
The judge said that the decision was made in accordance with the government’s policy on protective security, which is based on an assessment of threat, risk and vulnerability.
The judge also said that Prince Harry had not shown that his human rights or those of his family had been violated by the decision. He added that Prince Harry had not exhausted other avenues of challenge, such as appealing to the Independent Office for Police Conduct or the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Prince Harry’s lawyers said that he filed the legal claim in September 2020, after a security incident in London in July 2020, when his car was chased by photographers as he left a charity event.
They said that Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life, and that he had faced neo-Nazi and extremist threats in recent years.
They also said that he wanted to visit his home country with his wife, Meghan, and their two children, Lilibet and Archie, but needed to ensure their safety.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry said that he was disappointed by the outcome of the case, but respected the court’s decision. He said that Prince Harry would continue to explore other options to secure police protection for his family when they are in the UK.
A government spokesperson said that the UK’s protective security system was rigorous and proportionate, and that it was their long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as it could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.
Prince Harry and Meghan moved to the US in early 2020, after announcing their decision to step back as senior members of the royal family.
They have since signed lucrative deals with Netflix and Spotify, and launched their own foundation, Archewell. They have also been involved in several legal battles with the British media over privacy and defamation issues.
