Prince Harry Tells London Court He ‘Does Not Feel Safe’ Bringing Archie and Lilibet to the U.K.
Prince Harry “does not feel safe” bringing his children to the U.K. following the loss of his taxpayer funded police protection, his legal team told the High Court in London on Friday.
Speaking at a preliminary hearing to have the protection reinstated — which Prince Harry did not attend in person — the Duke of Sussex’s attorney Shaheed Fatima expressed Harry’s concerns over the security arrangements put in place when he and Meghan Markle stepped back from royal duties in January 2020.
Following their bombshell announcement, Harry and Meghan lost their public-funded protection in the U.K. and have privately paid for their own security in the U.S. They were also later told that they could not pay for U.K. police protection out of their own pockets.
This means that if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex return to the U.K. with son Archie Harrison, 2, and daughter Lilibet Diana, 8 months, they will not be entitled to state-funded protection and the deep level of security intelligence that comes with it.
“This claim is about the fact that the claimant does not feel safe when he is in the U.K. given the security arrangements that were applied to him in June 2021 and will continue to be applied to him if he decides to come back,” Fatima said at the Royal Courts of Justice, reports The Guardian.
Prince Harry’s concerns are believed to date back to his most recent visit to the U.K. in July 2021, when he joined brother Prince William for the unveiling of a statue to their mother, Princess Diana, in the gardens of Kensington Palace.
After a later charity event, Prince Harry’s car was reportedly chased by photographers through the streets of the British capital.
In September, Harry decided to address the issue by applying for a judicial review of the security arrangements, a legal challenge to the lawfulness of decisions taken by a public body.
The Duke is suing over a decision not to allow him to pay for police protection for himself and his family while in the UK.
He is arguing his private protection team in the US does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad or access to UK intelligence which is needed to keep safe.
On Friday, the first hearing in the case – which could cost up to £400,000 in total – took place at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, which Harry did not attend.
