Sounds like Lilibet won’t be meeting her British relatives any time soon.
As we’ve been reporting, Prince Harry has raised serious security concerns about returning to his home country of England from his new home in the US. When he and Meghan Markle stepped down from the Royal Family, their taxpayer funded police protection was revoked. But Harry feels that his family needs that level of protection when he returns to the country, so in September, he applied for a judicial review of his security arrangements.
Related: Charles Invited Harry To Stay With Him For Philip Memorial Amidst Security Issues
A preliminary hearing for the case (which the prince did not attend in person) took place on Friday, and lawyer Shaheed Fatima laid out the Duke of Sussex’s concerns. Per The Guardian, she stated:
“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.”
She added:
“And, of course, it should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart. Most of all, this is, and always will be, his home.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing the British government, Robert Palmer, argued that the claim is “unarguable and unmeritorious,” according to ABC News. Though the military vet has offered to cover the costs of this extra security personally, Palmer dismissed the offer in a written submission because “personal protective security by the police is not available on a privately financed basis.”
Although we tend to believe a lot of British institutions have treated the Sussexes unfairly over the years, we can see both sides of the argument here. As Harry has argued in the past, just because he stepped down as an official royal doesn’t mean his profile has decreased. (If anything, his new American lifestyle has increased interest.) And he can back it up with examples, because he was reportedly chased down by photographers after a charity event when he returned to the UK in July 2021, per The Guardian.
On the other hand, imagine if a millionaire visited your town and paid to use the police as his own private security while he stayed there. It’s just not how public resources should work. And although the father of two is a prince, he’s a private citizen now. Letting him essentially purchase his own police for a while might set a bad precedent.
For the record, according to People, the only members of the Royal Family who get 24-hour police protection are Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Other “working” royals such as Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, only get that level of security when they’re “on the job” (AKA, when they carry out “official engagements”). Grandchildren further down the line of succession, like Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, aren’t given state protection at all. (Embattled Prince Andrew lost his protections when he stepped away from royal duties in 2019.)
Related: Prince Charles’ Charity Investigated Over Alleged Cash-For-Honours Scheme
It’s definitely a “rock and a hard place” situation. It makes logical sense that stepping away from the Royal Family would mean giving up state protection. But Harry and his family are still very popular and sought-after public figures, and their return to the UK would be a HUGE event, so we understand why he would want more security. We’re not sure how this gets solved in everyone’s best interest, but since there’s only been a preliminary hearing so far, we expect a lot more legal arguments to come.
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
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