On Wednesday, Prince Harry will learn if he has prevailed in his legal battle against the UK government after his taxpayer-funded protection was taken away when he resigned from his royal duties.
In 2020, the youngest son of King Charles III made headlines when he and his wife Meghan abruptly left Britain and settled in California.
At a December hearing at London’s High Court, the prince stated that security issues were keeping him from returning to the UK.
“The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children,” he told court in a written statement read out by his lawyers.
“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,” he added.
Princess Diana, the mother of Harry, perished in a fast-moving automobile accident in Paris in 1997 while attempting to elude photographs from paparazzi.
Government attorneys disputed allegations that Harry was “singled out” and given “less favorable” treatment, as well as that an appropriate risk study was not done.
The interior ministry’s James Eadie told the court that because Harry had left the life of a working royal and had spent the most of his time overseas, it was decided that he would not receive the same degree of security as before.
Judge Peter Lane of the High Court will make the decision known in writing on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. (1030 GMT).
In May 2023, Harry lost a bid for a legal review of another government decision refusing him permission to pay for specialist UK police protection himself.
The interior ministry argued then that it was “not appropriate” for wealthy people to “buy” protective security when it had decided that it was not in the public interest for such taxpayer-funded protection.
London’s Metropolitan Police also opposed Harry’s offer on the grounds that it would be wrong to “place officers in harm’s way upon payment of a fee by a private individual”.
It is one of many legal cases launched by Harry.
He resolved a protracted legal dispute earlier this month with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), whose journalists he had accused of using dishonest and illegal tactics. However, he promised to go after numerous more UK media companies.
Harry is one of seven well-known individuals, including Elton John, who are suing the Daily Mail’s publisher on charges of illegal information collecting.
Along with actor Hugh Grant, they are suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World tabloids, as well as a portion of Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, for identical accusations.
However, Harry last month dropped his libel case against UK newspaper the Mail on Sunday over an article on his legal battles with the UK government.
