Prince Harry’s effort to pay for UK police protection fails in court
A London judge has ruled against Prince Harry in his effort to pay for police protection during his visit to Britain
FILE – Britain’s Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Thursday, March 30, 2023. A lawyer has asked a London judge to allow Prince Harry to challenge the government’s refusal of his request to pay for protection of the police during his visit to the British prosecutor Shaheed Fatima said on Tuesday May 16, 2023 that the government had exceeded its authority. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
The Associated Press
LONDON — A London judge ruled on Tuesday against Prince Harry in his efforts to pay for police protection during his visit to Britain.
A High Court judge has rejected the Duke of Sussex’s claim that the UK government overstepped his authority by denying him the right to hire police officers to provide security in the UK.
The British government stopped providing security after Harry and his wife, Meghan, left their royal duties and moved to California in 2020. A government lawyer argued in court that he should allow the hiring of “police as private bodyguards for the wealthy”.
Harry said he did not feel safe visiting Britain with his young children and cited aggressive press photographers.
The case was argued last week on the same day Harry and Meghan sought paparazzi coverage at a New York police station after a spokesperson said they had been involved in a “lawsuit in almost catastrophic car” with photographers after a gala.
No one was injured and no citations were given, but police said photographers made it difficult for the couple to get to where they were going.
Harry is separately challenging the decision to deny him government-paid security. The lawsuit is the only one of five pending lawsuits he has in the London courts that is not against UK tabloid editors over allegations of defamation or phone hacking.
He is due to give evidence next month in an ongoing trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror over allegations he used unlawful means to piece together material for dozens of articles about the Duke, dating back to the 1990s.
ABC News
