Prince Harry is challenging a government decision that he should not receive police protection when on British soil even if he covers the cost himself.
The Duke of Sussex says he wants to bring wife Meghan Markle and their two children “home” to the UK, but he is too scared to do so due to a lack of security.
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The couple lost access to around the clock police protection when they quit royal duties and moved to the United Staes in 2020.
Prince Harry has returned to the UK twice in the last two years – for the unveiling on a Princess Diana statue last July and Prince Philip’s funeral three months earlier – but Meghan and their two children have stayed in the US both times.
A legal representative for Harry said he does have private security, but this would not give him and his family the level of protection they need while visiting Britain.
“In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home,” the statement said.
“The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in,” they said on Sunday.
“But with the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.
‘Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life’ – Prince Harry’s legal representative
“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,” the statement continues.
“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.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK.
While Harry has returned to the UK twice since walking away from royal life in 2019, Meghan and two-year-old son Archie have not crossed the pond.
Baby daughter Lilibet has yet to set foot in the country where her dad was born and has not met any of her British relatives, including 95-year-old great grandmother the Queen.
The monarch has reportedly been made aware of her grandson’s action, which is thought to be the first time a member of the Royal Family has brought a case against Her Majesty’s Government.
