Prince Harry continued his court battle against the British government Tuesday for his right to hire UK police to protect his royal-adjacent family during their trips to the homeland.
A lawyer for the Duke of Sussex argued in London that Harry should be allowed to challenge a government decision that denies him the ability to pay public police as his personal security detail.
The government did not have the power to reject Harry’s funding offer because its denial was inconsistent with legislation that allows a police chief to provide special police services for payment, his legal team contended. Even if it did have the authority, they argued was wrong not to consider an exception or hear representations on his behalf.
“Parliament has clearly decided that in principle, payment for policing is not inconsistent with the public interest,” Harry’s lawyers wrote.
Layers for the British government countered that reimbursing police for security at special events such as marathons, soccer matches and celebrity weddings was not equivalent to using “police officers as private bodyguards for the wealthy” — especially considering Harry and wife Meghan Markle have not been working royals since they quit their duties in 2020.
The Sussexes lost the privilege of government-subsidized bodyguards when they moved to California three years ago — a ruling Harry is also battling in a separate ongoing legal case.
They have been paying for their US-based security detail over the last three years, but a spokesperson for the Sussexes said the American team doesn’t have jurisdiction abroad or access to intelligence in the UK.
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Harry — who recently traveled alone to Britain for King Charles’ historic Coronation — claims he is “gravely concerned about his safety and security during future trips to the UK” and feels unsafe bringing his children, 4-year-old Archie and Lilibet, nearly 2, overseas without protection.
Last year, Britain’s former counter-terrorism police chief said last year that far-right extremists have made credible threats against the family.
The judge said he would give his decision in a week or so.
The case is one of six the Duke has pending in court that center around his security and claims that British tabloids hacked into his personal devices for unlawfully obtained scoops about his family.
Harry is suing the publisher of the DailyMail and its sister publications for phone tapping and other breaches of privacy.
Harry is also currently suing the publisher of the Mail for libel over another article detailing the saga of his security rights court cases.
With Post Wires
