Prince Harry has lost the latest round of his legal battle against the British government over his publicly funded security when he is in Britain.
He has been fighting a decision to remove the automatic police protection that is normally given to members of the royal family. It was removed after he stepped down from his official role and left the country in 2020.
Harry lost the previous stage of the case in February last year, but challenged that ruling at the Court of Appeal, which gave its judgment on Friday.
At a two-day hearing last month, his barristers said in court that Harry had been left with “inferior treatment” that put his safety and that of his wife, Meghan, and their two children at risk.
Harry’s team argued that the decision to withdraw the normal level of protection for royals was unlawful and violated official policy.
The decision was made by a body called the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as Ravec, which brings together government officials, the police and members of the royal household.
Harry began his legal challenge in September 2021 and the first stage heard that he had offered to “reimburse or proactively finance the cost of the security measures” himself, but Ravec decided that the move would be wrong “in principle.”
The committee was said to be concerned that permitting private payment would “reduce the availability” of a limited pool of close protection officers in Britain where police do not routinely carry guns and undergo intensive specialist training for the role.
Harry lost a legal challenge on the funding decision in 2023, and a High Court judge dismissed his case on wider grounds in February 2024.
He was granted permission to appeal three months later, but only on legal points concerning whether the committee had violated its own policy.
While the case has been ongoing, Harry has visited Britain on several occasions, including for the funeral of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and for the coronation of his father, King Charles III.
The High Court heard that each visit had triggered applications to the committee for public protection, which are now considered for Harry on a case-by-case basis, and involved the use of private security.
Harry is fighting a separate case at the High Court against the publisher of the British newspaper Daily Mail, alongside a group of celebrities and high-profile individuals who accuse it of unlawfully obtaining information on their personal lives. A two-day hearing on that case is set to take place next week.
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