28 February 2024 , 16:39
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Prince Harry has lost his High Court challenge against the Home Office over the government's decision to offer him a lower level of security when he visits the UK now that he's no longer a working royal.
After announcing they were stepping down as senior royals back in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were told they wouldn't be given the "same degree" of protection. Instead of being offered the same levels as King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales, they were offered similar protection to less senior royals including Princess Anne and Prince Edward. The Duke of Sussex - who now lives in the US with his family - took legal action but has today been told his challenge has been unsuccessful.
Prince Harry lost his High Court case this morningThe decision will likely be a huge blow to the King's youngest son, who has previously said he believes his children cannot “feel at home" in the UK if it is "not possible to keep them safe" there. There is a chance the decision will impact how much time he spends in the UK and how many visits Meghan and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet make to his homeland.
Here, royal expert Tessa Dunlop explains how today's judgement could be felt in years to come.
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Prince Harry's relationship with his dad, King Charles
The Duke returned to the UK last month after the King was diagnosed with cancer. The pair had a brief meeting believed to last about 30 minutes. Harry later said he felt "lucky" to have been able to see his father, adding it could lead to a reunion with his family. This sparked hope among royal fans that the tense relations between the pair could be on the mend.
And Tessa explained: "Once a prince, always a prince. At the heart of Harry's case against the UK government was his birthright as a man born to the son of a future King. Irrespective of the Sussexes rejection of working royal life, the couple clearly believed that the risk level of travelling to the UK merited comprehensive security protection: any suggestion otherwise Harry was deemed ‘unlawful and unfair.’
Charles with his son Prince Harry (Getty Images)"That the High Court has just rejected his legal challenge over security in the UK will be perceived by the Sussexes as another body blow from the British Establishment; the ruling that they do not require full royal protection will set back the tentative recent efforts at reconciliation between estranged royals. King Charles’s facilitation of Harry’s last minute visit in the wake of his cancer diagnosis is indicative of a father keen to build bridges.
"However, with the Sussexes’ security concerns rejected by the court, more frequent reunions with the Prince and his young family now look less likely. If the King disapproves of Harry’s continuous litigation (the courts operate in His Majesty’s name after all!), there must be a small part of the ailing monarch that respects his youngest son’s tenacity. Harry’s loss in court today is a reminder that the path he has chosen is not one for the fainthearted."
Chances of Harry returning to royal life
There have been many reports in recent weeks of a possible return to the fold for Harry. The Royal Family is short on numbers at the moment, with Charles away from duties as he undergoes cancer treatment and the Princess of Wales recovering from her abdominal surgery. There were some suggestions that Harry would have been willing to step up to fill any gaps, however Tessa now believes this ruling will change that.
The couple at Trooping the Colour in 2019 (Getty Images)She said: "Once again much of the chat has been about an absence William. Yesterday he did not give the reading at his Godfather Constantine II of Greece’s memorial service, pulling out at the last minute. Instead Prince Andrew was leading the fray into St George’s Chapel; hardly ideal royal PR and another timely reminder that Harry is much missed.
"Any hope that he may return to the fold even intermittently has been kyboshed by today’s High Court ruling that the Sussex family do not merit full royal protection. Why should the absent Prince put in more royal time if the UK government doesn't consider him worthy of more than case-by-case royal protection? The King cannot control the courts nor the government that rules in his name, but whatever way you flip this verdict it is not good for future family relations."
Meghan's relationship with Royals and likelihood to return to UK
But it's not just Harry that today's decision will directly affect - it will also play a part in whether Meghan Markle will return to the UK for future visits. And Tessa added: "Let's be candid; it was Harry who led the charge against the British government and his family’s right to full royal protection.
Harry and Meghan with Charles, Prince William and Princess Kate (Getty Images)"But much of his fighting zeal was informed not only by his mother’s tragic death but also the security issues surrounding his new wife. He wrote candidly of the ‘racist taunts and death threats’ Meghan was subjected to. At the time of their wedding the ‘official threat level’ (the measure used by Palace security to allocate guns and personnel) was off the scale.
"Since then the attention and trolling the Sussexes receive has continued unabated. Given today’s ruling, do not expect to see Meghan in Britain anytime soon. As a working royal the duchess didn’t feel secure in the UK, and back then she was the beneficiary of full royal protection."
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Archie and Lilibet's relationship with the Royal Family
And it's not just Meghan either, the ruling could also be a factor in how often the Royal Family get to see the Sussexes' children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Tessa explained: "It is impossible not to feel sad about the prospect of an ill, aged King who is unable to see his grandchildren. But sadly, happy family reunions look even less likely in the wake of today’s High Court ruling. Charles, a loving man, has scarcely so much as glimpsed Archie and Lilibet, and despite warmer relations between father and son, once more the machinations of state affairs have got in the way.
"The British government successfully fought off the Sussexes' claim they require full royal protection, and ironically it is a decision that will cost their King access to his transatlantic grandchildren.
"Harry is not the only royal who will feel distraught about the implications of today’s ruling. It is another reminder that the Windsor family’s domestic lives are governed by very different rules from the rest of us."
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Meanwhile, this latest blow for Harry comes at a time when he and Meghan appear to be launching a rebrand following the unveiling of their controversial sussex.com website.
Tessa said: "There has been much talk of Harry and Meghan’s rebrand, including criticism of their new coat-of-arms. Certainly the couple’s website has plenty appropriated royal gloss. But the fall out from recent events in Britain suggest it is the royal family who are missing the Sussex gloss. At a memorial service for the late former King of Greece, the British contingent’s lack of star power was conspicuous for its absence. With Kate and the King still out of action and William missing in action (personal reasons apparently), Prince Andrew took centre stage - not a good look.
"All in all it served as a pertinent reminder that Harry and Meghan brought celebrity appeal to royal events. Instead it was the wintery slopes of British Colombia in Canada that were the recent recipients of the Sussexes’ sheen. As promised Harry is still serving – he was promoting the Invictus Games - but that service is no longer in the name of Great Britain."