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Without the care of the police in Great Britain, Prince Harry does not feel adequately protected for himself and his family
Photo: Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Prince Harry, 37, who has emigrated to the United States, is struggling with the legal process for police protection when visiting his British homeland. His legal team appears to have filed an application for legal review of a UK government decision not to pay for police protection for him and his family on visits to the UK. This is reported by the PA news agency.
Harry and Meghan had lost their then-taxpayer-funded police protection after quitting their jobs as senior royals. When they moved to the United States, the issue of security was an important argument.
The prince now wants to bring his son Archie, 2, and daughter Lilibet, who is just over seven months old, to the island so they can get to know his homeland, according to the PA. However, the family could not return without police protection, the lawyers said in a statement.
The background is also an incident in the summer of 2021 in London.
Paparazzi photographers had followed Harry's car as he left a charity event.
At that time, the prince and his older brother Prince William, 39, unveiled a statue in memory of their dead mother Diana.
She died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while fleeing paparazzi reporters.
According to his legal representatives, Harry would like to pay for the police protection himself.
He believes his private bodyguards in the US do not have sufficient powers and security information abroad to protect his family.
Therefore, Harry insists on the protection of the police.
According to his lawyers, however, he now wants to bear the costs himself.
Britain will always be Harry's home and a country where he wants his wife and children to be safe, the statement said.
"Prince Harry inherited a lifetime security hazard at birth."
»Threats from neo-Nazis and extremists«
The lawyers also pointed out in their statement that Harry's family had also faced "well-documented threats from neo-Nazis and extremists" in recent years.
A UK government spokesman declined to comment on the case.
The protection measures for celebrities in Great Britain are good and "proportionate".
Detailed information on this could not be provided because it "could affect the safety of individuals".
The lawyers' request for legal review was made back in September 2021, according to the PA report.
In such an examination, the applicant asks to investigate the legality of a decision by a public authority or government body - in this case the UK Home Office.
If the applicant wins, the decision may be declared illegal or overturned.
flg/dpa/AFP