Prince Harry will reportedly be offered ‘limited police protection’ when he makes a trip to the UK next week. The Duke of Sussex is due to travel from his Montecito home in the US to London for his forthcoming High Court trial against News Group Newspapers.
It is understood that he will be granted protection from the Metropolitan Police during this time. According to a source, Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has agreed to provide Prince Harry with armed officers from the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command.
It comes after Harry lost his legal battle for taxpayer funded security last year. The insider said: “He is offering Harry limited police protection.
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“The Met has been trying to recruit officers on their days off because they don’t have a lot of spare staff.” It is also understood that Harry was offered a place to stay at Buckingham Palace but turned it down, Mirror reports.
Last year, Harry lost a legal challenge over his protection when in the UK. He was contesting a decision to downgrade his security status when he stepped back from being a working royal.
Harry was no longer automatically provided with the same level of police protection given to other members of the Royal Family when he quit working royal life and moved to the US with wife Meghan Markle.
His security is now an operations decision for the Metropolitan Police and it is made on a case-by-case basis, in the same way as other VIP visitors to the UK. Harry claimed he was singled out in the 2020 decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.
But the High Court ruled in March last year that Ravec’s ruling was not irrational or unfair. The Home Office said it was pleased with the court’s finding, adding that Harry’s security would be arranged on a perceived-risk basis.
The prince was at the Coronation in 2023, with the Metropolitan Police providing security. In June, he was given the go-ahead to appeal the High Court ruling dismissing his challenge to the level of police protection he receives in the UK.
Granting the appeal, Judge David Bean said he was persuaded ‘not without hesitation’ that Harry’s challenge has a real prospect of success. Harry and former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson are suing NGN, publisher of The Sun, over alleged unlawful information-gathering and invasion of privacy.
It is understood Harry will return to the UK without Meghan and their children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. The Mirror has contacted Prince Harry for comment.