Prince Harry in court to challenge ‘unjustified’ UK security downgrade

Prince Harry’s lawyer told a UK appeal court on Tuesday that paring back the royal’s personal security during his visits to Britain was “unjustified”.

Harry, who is appealing against the government decision, watched proceedings unfold from inside London’s Royal Courts of Justice during a rare visit to the British capital.

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, has now brought the challenge before the Court of Appeal in central London.

“The appellant does not accept that ‘bespoke’ means ‘better’,” the Duke of Sussex’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, told the hearing when she opened the case.

“In fact, in his submission, it means that he has been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment.”

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.

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‘The UK is my home’

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

“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.

The prince’s legal battle centres on a February 2020 decision to downgrade his 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.

Legal challenge follows previous court defeat

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 ($1.27 million) 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.

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Fatima argued that the committee had failed to carry out an assessment of the risks posed to Harry and that the High Court had been wrong to overlook that.

‘Bespoke’

“This appeal concerns the most fundamental right — to safety and security of person,” Fatima said on Tuesday. Harry, dressed in a dark suit with blue patterned tie, looked on, occasionally whispering into the ear of another member of his legal team.

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

The hearing is expected to finish on Wednesday, with parts held in private due to security concerns.

Harry, who has pursued several legal suits against British UK tabloid dailies, is also 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.

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.

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