Prince Harry was “singled out” for “unjustified and inferior treatment” when his U.K. security protections were downgraded, his lawyer argued as the royal made an appearance at London’s Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
As the BBC reports, the prince is in court to challenge a judge’s decision to uphold the downgrading of his security arrangements in the U.K. after he stepped back from official royal duties in 2020 alongside his wife, Meghan Markle. The two moved to Montecito, Calif. — where they are raising young children Archie and Lilibet — and are not often back in the U.K., making Harry’s court appearance a rare one.
This case has been ongoing for nearly four years. In September 2021, Harry began legal action against the Home Office, whose Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) downgraded his taxpayer-funded police protection to a case-by-case basis instead of providing the highest level of security. In December 2023, the prince said during a hearing that “the U.K. is central to the heritage of my children, and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the U.S.” In February of last year, Harry’s claim was dismissed, a decision which the prince appealed. This appeal was initially refused, but eventually granted in June 2024.
Prince Harry is arguing that he and his family require the highest level of protection as they still receive security threats. According to the BBC, the prince’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima KC, argued that his security was never discussed in a formal meeting of the Home Office’s RAVEC and Harry should have been informed as to how the decision was being made. He was “singled out for different unjustified and inferior treatment,” Fatima said, asserting that the judge in the previous case did not properly evaluate all of the evidence.
In response, the Home Office’s lawyer, Sir James Eadie KC, argued that his client has treated the prince “in a bespoke manner,” adding: “He is no longer a member of the cohort of individuals whose security position remains under regular review by RAVEC. Rather, he is brought back into the cohort in appropriate circumstances, and in light of consideration of any given context.”
A final decision on the two-day hearing will be delivered at a later date.
