Prince Harry Fights to Regain UK Security Protection

Prince Harry wants his British security detail back when he is in the UK, and he made a rare court appearance Tuesday with that goal in mind. His security detail funded by the British government was stripped in February 2020 after he ceased being a working member of the royal family; he and wife Meghan Markle were living in Canada at the time, reports the New York Times. A 2024 ruling found that the decision by a government panel—known by the acronym Ravec—to only provide him with "bespoke" security on a case-by-case basis was lawful. His attorney, Shaheed Fatima, claims the group tasked with assessing the Duke of Sussex's security risks didn't follow its own protocol, which called for it to carry out a risk-management assessment.

Fatima on Tuesday told the court that the prince was not asserting that he should "automatically be entitled to the same protection as he was previously given" but rather that he should have been given a detailed account of how the panel came to the conclusion it did. The BBC reports he has claimed he was not given the opportunity to appear before the panel and plead his case, nor was he able to review any risk assessments it may have conducted. The Times notes that on recent visits to the UK, including for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral and his father's coronation, Harry paid for his own security. The court was told on Tuesday that reps for the prince had requested public security protections from Ravec in each case.

His lawyer noted in court documents that Prince Harry, 40, has faced at least two major security threats, citing an al-Qaeda document that referenced his assassination and a highly publicized 2023 paparazzi chase in New York, reports the AP. The appeal, which is being heard by the Court of Appeal, will wrap on Wednesday, though much of that second day's hearing will be done in private so that sensitive security details can be discussed. The BBC reports the prince did not speak while in court on Tuesday but sat in the back row with a pen and paper. The decision will come at a later date. (Harry has said he won't bring his wife to the UK absent police security because it's too dangerous.) (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)