A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Prince Harry’s visa application will remain private, despite his admissions of drug use in his memoir Spare, which was published in January 2023. The Duke of Sussex had disclosed using marijuana, cocaine, and psychedelic mushrooms in the memoir.
The conservative Heritage Foundation had filed a lawsuit demanding the U.S. government release Prince Harry’s immigration records, specifically seeking clarity on whether he disclosed his drug use during the visa application process. However, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ruled on Monday, September 23, 2024 that “the public does not have a strong interest in the disclosure of the duke’s immigration records.”
Judge Nichols further emphasized that “like any foreign national, the duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status.”
The Heritage Foundation, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, argued that Prince Harry’s public admissions of drug use raised questions about whether the U.S. government followed proper procedures in approving his entry into the country. They stated that the “widespread and continuous” media coverage around the Duke’s drug use warranted public disclosure of his visa records.
Application forms for U.S. visas specifically ask about past and present drug use, and such disclosures can result in the denial of both immigrant and non-immigrant visas. However, immigration officers retain discretion when making final decisions based on various factors.
In Spare, Prince Harry reflected on his drug use, stating that cocaine “didn’t do anything for me,” but noted that “marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.”
Despite these admissions, Judge Nichols concluded that the public’s interest in the matter is outweighed by the Duke’s privacy rights.
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to the U.S. in January 2020 after stepping back from their royal duties.
