Prince Harry loses court case over getting full-time police protection
UK court says no to Prince Harry's request for royal security (Photo: Getty Images)
Prince Harry has lost his appeal in Britain's High Court challenging the government's decision to withdraw his taxpayer-funded police protection after stepping down as a full-time working royal, NBC News reports.
On Friday, the UK's High Court rejected Prince Harry's appeal against a decision made by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) to end his automatic police protection in the UK after he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to the US.
Harry had argued that Ravec did not follow its own procedures when it downgraded his security.
His lawyers claimed that as a high-profile royal, he should continue receiving full protection like his father, King Charles III, and brother, Prince William.
Currently, his security is determined on a "case-by-case basis," similar to how the UK handles visits from other high-profile foreign figures.
In their ruling, judges Lord Justice David Bean, Lord Justice Andrew Edis, and Sir Geoffrey Vos dismissed Harry's appeal.
"He was in effect stepping in and out of the cohort of protection provided by Ravec," said Vos.
"Outside the UK he was outside the cohort, but when in the UK his security would be considered as appropriate depending on the circumstances."
He added, "It was impossible, I said in my judgment, to say that this reasoning was illogical or inappropriate. Indeed, it seemed sensible."
Legal team cites lifelong threats and racist abuse
Harry's legal team emphasized the personal risk he faces, noting he "inherited a security risk at birth, for life."
They highlighted his two combat tours in Afghanistan and pointed to "well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats" in recent years.
His lawyers also stated that he and Meghan felt "forced to step back" from royal life because "they considered they were not being protected by the institution."
Harry has repeatedly voiced concerns over his family's safety, pointing to the intense media scrutiny and what he described as racially motivated abuse directed at Meghan.
In 2023, the prince lost a separate legal attempt to personally fund Metropolitan Police protection while visiting the UK after a government lawyer argued officers should not serve as "private bodyguards for the wealthy."
Beyond his fight for security, Harry has been involved in a string of legal disputes with British tabloids.
He won substantial damages from Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers, which admitted that staff from The Sun had used illegal methods to obtain information about him and his mother, Princess Diana.
He also won over $179,000 in damages in a separate phone-hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers, and is part of an ongoing lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Limited, with a trial set for 2025.
Despite multiple legal victories against the press, Harry continues to battle both the system and his estranged royal ties in pursuit of security and justice for his family.
