The first stage of Prince
Harry’s claim against the Home Office over his police protection in the UK will
be heard at the High Court on Thursday.
Back in January, the Duke of
Sussex filed a claim for a judicial review against the Home Office’s decision
not to allow him to personally pay for police protection for his family while
in the UK.
Harry, who stepped back from
royal duties in January 2020, wants to bring his wife Meghan Markle,
son Archie and baby daughter Lilibet to visit from the US,
but has alleged that he and his family are “unable to return” because
it is too dangerous.
Harry’s lawyers will ask Mr.
Justice Swift at a hearing in London on Thursday to grant permission for a full
judicial review of the Home Office’s decision.
The father-of-two is
challenging the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the
Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) over his security, after being
told he would no longer be given the “same degree” of personal
protective security when visiting.
The Duke’s barrister, Shaheed
Fatima QC, previously told the court that Harry considers the UK “is and
always will be his home. The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a
country he wants his wife and children to be safe in,” Harry’s legal
representative said in a statement earlier this year.
“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.”
