Prince Harry wants to visit his friends and relatives in the United Kingdom, but his legal team told the High Court in London on Friday that he “does not feel comfortable” without security.
The latest declarations came ahead of a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, which was set after Harry, 37, filed a petition in January that expressed a similar attitude.
Harry’s lawyer said on Friday that he wants to bring his children, 2-year-old Archie and 8-month-old Lilibet, to visit from the United States, but that they are “unable to return to his house” because it is “too hazardous.”
“This claim is about the fact that the claimant does not,” stated Barrister Shaheed Fatima QC.
“Of course, he wants to return: to see family and friends and to continue to assist the causes that are so dear to his heart.” Above all, this is and will always be his home.”
The Home Office, the UK’s lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, fire, counter-terrorism, and police, circulated a skeleton argument on Friday showing it plans to argue that personal protective security for Harry is still considered on a “case-by-case basis” due to his “exceptional status.” The selection could be influenced by the royal’s reasons for visiting Britain and the events he would perform while there.
According to the Guardian, Harry “has failed to appreciate the role of the Home Office and the Royal and VIP executive committee (RAVEC), a taskforce of civil officials and Scotland Yard officers, ‘as the expert, and democratically accountable, decision-maker’ on questions of protective security.”
A judge is anticipated to rule at a later date after receiving more information, including witness statements, which will be kept confidential.
Harry said in January’s petition that his family had “been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats” and vowed to sue the British government unless it provided more security (although he already pays for a private team of his own).
Harry even promised to cover the fees so that the British taxpayers would not be impacted.
“In January of 2020, at Sandringham, the Duke first offered to pay personally for UK police security for himself and his family,” according to the statement. “That offer was turned down. He is still willing to fund the cost of protection so that the British taxpayer is not burdened.”
In 2020, Harry and Markle, both 40, resigned from their royal duties and relocated to North America, sparking a feud with Buckingham Palace.