Prince Harry on Sept. 7, 2023 in London.Photo:Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty
Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty
Prince Harryhas lost his legal challenge to havepolice security in the U.K.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, argued that he should have automatic protection for himself and his family whenever they visit the U.K. from their home in California after the U.K. authorities stripped away the right in February 2020, shortly after he and his wife,Meghan Markle, stepped back from official royal duties.
In a December statement, Prince Harry said he “felt forced” tostep back from his royal roleand leave the U.K. in 2020, citing security concerns for his family: his wife and their two children, sonPrince Archie, 4, andPrincess Lilibet, 2.
“The court has also found that there has been no unlawfulness on the part of RAVEC in respect of its arrangements for certain of the claimant’s visits to Great Britain,” the ruling added.
Prince Harry at another court hearing in London in June 2023.Neil Mockford/GC Images
Neil Mockford/GC Images
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Prince Harry is now going to appeal against the decision.
“The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of RAVEC’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with RAVEC’s own written policy,” a legal spokesperson said in a statement to PEOPLE on Wednesday.
“In February 2020, RAVEC failed to apply its written policy to The Duke of Sussex and excluded him from a particular risk analysis,” the statement continued. “The Duke’s case is that the so-called ‘bespoke process’ that applies to him, is no substitute for that risk analysis. The Duke of Sussex hopes he will obtain justice from the Court of Appeal and makes no further comment while the case is ongoing.”
Prince Harry arrives to the Royal Courts of Justice in June 2023.ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
In December 2023, lawyers for Prince Harry argued against the February 2020 decision to remove the prince’s automatic right to U.K. police security. Although the Duke of Sussex offered to cover the costs of security, the bid was rejected.
In astatement to the High Court in Londonat the time, Prince Harry said that he needed the police security for his children “to feel at home” in his native country — something that he said can’t happen “if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”
“The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States,” Harry continued. “That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”
“I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too,” he said.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Whistler, Canada, on Valentines Day.Andrew Chin/Getty
Andrew Chin/Getty
As the decision was announced on Wednesday, Harry’s fatherKing Charles,who isundergoing treatment for cancer, was photographed being driven away from his London home. Prince Harry brieflyvisited his fatheron Feb. 6, jetting across the Atlantic Ocean shortly after the news became public the day earlier.
Since their move to California in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan have only brought their children to the U.K. once: in 2022, when they attended Queen Elizabeth’sPlatinum Jubilee celebrationsandmarked Lili’s first birthdayat Frogmore Cottage, their former U.K. home in Windsor.
Prince Harry arrives at tge Royal Courts of Justice in June 2023.Leon Neal/Getty Images
Leon Neal/Getty Images
In December, the U.K. government’s Home Office said that Prince Harry would have “bespoke arrangements, specifically tailored to him” rather than the automatic security afforded other working royals,the BBCreported.
source: people.com
