Prince Harry will be allowed to appeal the decision to downgrade his personal security when he visits Britain, according to a judge’s ruling published on Thursday.
The younger son of King Charles III took legal action after the British government informed him in 2020 that he would no longer receive the same degree of publicly funded protection when in the UK. In February, the High Court in London ruled that the government had acted lawfully. However, Judge David Bean, in an order dated May 23, stated that Harry could challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
Harry, also known as the Duke of Sussex, relocated to North America in 2020 with his wife Meghan Markle, eventually settling in California. No longer classified as a working royal, Harry has expressed security concerns that have prevented him from visiting Britain. At a hearing in December, he stated, “The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children.” He added that he could not ensure their safety without proper security measures, citing his reluctance to put his family in harm’s way.
The prince, a former British Army captain who served two tours of duty in Afghanistan, highlighted his personal experiences and the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997 while trying to escape paparazzi photographers, as reasons for his concerns.
This legal action over his personal security is one of several lawsuits Harry has pursued in recent years in Britain, mainly over phone hacking by newspapers. In December, a UK judge ruled that he had been a victim of phone hacking by journalists working for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). He reached an out-of-court settlement in February.
