Prince Harry has detailed
his personal clash with the Queen’s private secretary – Sir Edward Young
– after a committee decision stripped the Duke from receiving state
security.
The Queen’s grandson has
argued that the committee’s decision on his security was not independent owing
to crucial involvement from members of the Royal Household. In a potentially
bitter embroilment, Prince Harry has brought about a claim against the Home
Office over his police protection in the UK.
The Duke’s barrister, Shaheed
Fatima QC, told the court: “He didn’t know at that stage that the Royal
Household was involved at all … he was told it was an independent
decision.”
She went on to reference
‘significant tensions’ between Harry and the Queen’s private secretary,
Sir Edward Young.
Upset by the outcome, Prince
Harry has argued that he should have been kept in the loop with regards to the
decision-making process, including whether it was ‘appropriate’ for
members of the royal household to have been involved.
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Prince Harry regards the UK as his home
In a bid to overturn the
decision, Harry’s lawyers will ask Mr. Justice Swift to grant permission for a
full judicial review of the Home Office’s decision at a hearing on Thursday. He
is challenging the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the
Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) – which falls under the remit
of the Home Office – over his security, after being told he would no longer be
given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting.
Despite stepping down from his
royal duties in January 2020, the father-of-two hopes to bring his wife and
children to the UK but is currently ‘unable to return to his home’ because it
is deemed too dangerous.
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The duo stepped down from royal duties in 2020
Ms. Fatima previously told the
court that Harry considers the UK ‘is and always will be his home’.
She added: “Prince Harry
inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the
throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his
family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.
“While his role within
the institution has changed, his profile as a member of the royal family has
not. Nor has the threat to him and his family.”
