Prince Harry takes UK security downgrade fight to Court of Appeal

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - NYT columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, speak during the New York Times annual DealBook summit at Jazz at Lincoln Centre in New York December 4, 2024. — AFP pic

LONDON, April 8 — Prince Harry will push ahead with a court challenge in London on Tuesday as the self-exiled royal fights a decision to downgrade his personal security when he visits Britain.

Following Harry’s dramatic split with the royal family in 2020 and subsequent move to North America, the British government said he would no longer be given the “same degree” of publicly funded protection when in the UK.

But the 40-year-old prince took legal action against the interior ministry and, after his initial case was rejected last year, he is now set to bring a challenge before London’s Court of Appeal.

Harry and his American wife Meghan are no longer classified as working royals following their acrimonious departure from the UK in 2020, which has left them largely estranged from the family.

They have started a new life in California, but King Charles III’s younger son has said security concerns have hampered his ability to visit home, and he has only rarely returned to the UK for short visits.

‘The UK is my home’

“The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children,” he said in a written statement read out by his lawyers at a 2023 hearing.

“That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe. I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.”

Harry’s mother Princess Diana was killed in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997 as she tried to escape paparazzi photographers.

Last week, the Court of Appeal said parts of the hearing, which is set to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, would be held in private due to security concerns.

It was not clear whether Harry would be attending in person. The hearing comes on the same day as his wife’s new podcast “Confessions of a Female Founder” is due to be launched.

‘Singled out’

The prince’s legal battle centres on a February 2020 decision to downgrade Harry’s security, made by the UK’s interior ministry and a committee that deals with the protection of royals and public figures.

Britain’s High Court was previously told the decision followed a change in Harry’s status after he stopped being a working member of the royal family.

The High Court ruled in February 2024 against Harry’s case, saying the government had acted lawfully.

The prince’s initial bid to appeal was refused in April 2024 and he was ordered to pay about £1,000,000 (1.17 million euros) in legal costs, according to The Times newspaper. However, the following month, a judge said Harry could in fact challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.

Harry’s lawyers told the High Court he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” in the committee’s decision, claiming that alleged flaws made the downgrade “unlawful and unfair”.

The government argued the committee was entitled to conclude Harry’s protection should be “bespoke” and considered on a “case-by-case” basis.

The dispute comes as Harry, who has taken several legal suits against British UK tabloid dailies, is embroiled in a separate row over a charity he co-founded in southern Africa.

A bitter boardroom battle has seen the prince resign as patron of the Sentebale charity, while its chair Sophie Chandauka has accused him of “bullying” and being involved in a “cover up”.

Harry has in turn hit out at what he called “blatant lies”, and the UK-based charity watchdog has launched an investigation. — AFP