Are Harry and his family currently under protection?
He and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, personally fund a private security team in the US for their family.
The Sussexes have signed multimillion-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, with Harry telling Oprah Winfrey that he secured these to pay for his security.
But he and Meghan lost their taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK after leaving as senior working royals.
Why did they lose their taxpayer-funded security?
Their security provision was one of the major issues when the couple announced that they wanted to step down in 2020.
Speaking to Winfrey during the couple’s sit-down interview in 2021, Harry said he was told that ‘due to a change in our status – we will no longer be an ‘official’ member of the royal family.
He said he was shocked and “backed down” on the issue, arguing that there was no change in danger or risk to the couple.
During the same interview, Meghan described how she had written to her husband’s family urging them to ‘not pull their security’ but was told ‘this is not possible’.
At the time of announcing her withdrawal from royal life in 2020, her website suggested that the Home Office through the Metropolitan Police should continue to provide security for the couple and Archie, their only child at the time.
Has he himself offered to pay for police protection in the UK?
Yes. His legal representative said that instead of asking taxpayers to pay the bill, Harry himself wanted to provide the security fund.
He first offered to personally pay for police protection for himself and his family in the UK during the so-called Sandringham summit in January 2020, but the legal representative said the offer was ‘rejected’.
The representative said that Harry “remains prepared to cover the cost of protection not imposed on the British taxpayer”.
Can they use the same security team they have while in the US?
Harry’s legal representative said that while the couple personally fund a private security team for their family, ‘this protection cannot mimic the necessary police protection required in the UK’.
They argue that the US team does not have sufficient jurisdiction overseas or access to UK intelligence that is needed to keep the Sussex family safe.
So what is Harry doing about his UK security now?
In September 2021, he filed a claim for judicial review against the Home Office’s decision.
His legal team said the action was taken “after another attempt at negotiations was also rejected”.
He said the judicial review bid is “an attempt to challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hope that it can be reevaluated for clear and necessary protections”.
What dangers do the couple see themselves facing in the UK?
In a statement, the legal representative said: ‘He remains sixth in line to the throne, serves two rounds of combat duty in Afghanistan, and his family has been neo-Nazi and extremist in recent years. has become a victim of danger. While his role within the institution has changed, his profile as a member of the royal family has not. Nor is there any danger to him and his family.
Has the Home Office said anything about the bid for judicial review?
A government spokesman said: ‘The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about those arrangements. Doing so may compromise their integrity and affect the safety of individuals.
‘It would also not be appropriate to comment on the details of any legal proceedings.’
Will the couple return to the UK if the issue is not resolved as they wished?
A spokesman for the Duke has said that, in the absence of what they believe to be essential protection, ‘Prince Harry and his family are unable to return home’.
He insisted that Britain “will always be Prince Harry’s home”, adding that it is “a country in which he wants his wife and children to be safe”.
But he added: ‘With the lack of police protection, a personal risk is enormous.’