Prince Harry loses challenge over UK police protection, following US move, giving up working royal status

Prince Harry lost his legal challenge against the British government’s decision to take away his police protection when he is in Britain

Harry, along with other senior royals, had received full publicly-funded security protection provided by the state before he stepped back from his royal duties

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Prince Harry was not improperly stripped of his publicly funded security detail during visits to Britain after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the U.S., a London judge ruled on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:10pm, 28 Feb 2024Updated: 8:53pm, 28 Feb 2024

Prince Harry on Wednesday lost his legal challenge against the British government’s decision to take away his police protection when he is in Britain.

Justice Peter Lane said that the decision to provide security to Harry on a case-by-case basis was not unlawful, irrational or unjustified.

The Duke of Sussex claimed he and his family were endangered when visiting the UK because of hostility toward him and his wife on social media and relentless hounding by news media.

Harry, King Charles’ younger son, had brought the action against the government at the High Court in London after the Home Office – the ministry responsible for policing – decided in February 2020 that he would cease to automatically receive personal police security while in Britain.

A government lawyer said Harry had been treated fairly and was still provided protection on some visits, citing a security detail that guarded him in June 2021 when he was chased by photographers after attending an event with seriously ill children at Kew Gardens in west London.

Harry, along with other senior royals, had received full publicly-funded security protection provided by the state before he stepped back from his royal duties and moved to California with his American wife Meghan in March 2020.

-Prince Harry lost a court challenge against the UK government over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the country. Photo: AP

After being granted permission for a judicial review of that decision, his lawyers told a hearing in December that the decision to take this away subjected him to unlawful, unfair and unjustifiable treatment.