In his autobiographical book Spare, which was published in January, Prince Harry addresses intimate moments from his childhood, his departure from the British royal family and mourning following the death of his mother, Princess Diana. But a particular confession in which he admits to using drugs motivated a conservative organization to want to dig through his immigration records to find out if he disclosed this information when applying for his U.S. visa or if he enjoyed preferential treatment from the government, as one lawsuit alleges.
A federal court will decide whether to expedite the request by the conservative group Heritage Foundation to make public the immigration documentation of King Charles III's youngest son, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) considers private.
[Prince Harry will be the first British royal to testify in court in 130 years]
Washington District Judge Carl Nichols told the Heritage Foundation and DHS on Tuesday to work on an agreement, and that if they don't get it within a week, he will intervene in the dispute. The applicants argue that Prince Harry's immigration history is of "intense public interest" and requested that he be released through a request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The lawsuit, obtained by CBS News, argues that "U.S. law often declares entry of such people inadmissible," referring to Prince Harry for his admission to drug use. "DHS may have improperly granted the Duke of Sussex a waiver to enter the country on a nonimmigrant visa, given his history of admissions of the essential elements of drug offenses."
Prince Harry after leaving court Tuesday in London.Alberto Pezzali / AP
"This case is really about DHS," Samuel Dewey, an attorney with the Heritage Foundation, was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. The group linked the Duke of Sussex's visa process to immigration at the southern border and how the system works.
"Someone's visa status is confidential," said John Bardo, an attorney with the Department of Homeland Security. DHS has not yet responded to the request that two other government agencies involved have already denied, according to the AP.
Did the prince lie to get the U.S. visa?
The revelation on which the Heritage Foundation's petition is based is when Prince Harry maintains that he used cocaine and marijuana in the past, particularly a passage in the book in which he claims to have eaten mushrooms at an actress' home in Los Angeles, California, in 2016, according to an excerpt from Spare cited by People magazine.
The U.S. government routinely asks applicants if they have used drugs, but acknowledging having used them before does not expel or prohibit people from entering or remaining in the country.
Federal lawyers have argued that while agency policies allow this type of information to be disclosed if it is in the public interest, in Prince Harry's case this does not apply and that the questions raised by the foundation are not of sufficient weight to show that the government acted irregularly in the process.
[Harry and Meghan Markle 'looked scared,' says taxi driver who drove them in New York]
Meanwhile, in London, the Duke of Sussex faced court over a lawsuit against British tabloids in which he testified Tuesday that editors at some media outlets have "blood on their hands," referring to the impact of their coverage on his and his mother's private lives.
Harry is the first senior member of the British royal family to appear as a witness in court in 130 years. The prince has been categorical in stating that he believes the paparazzi are responsible for his mother's death following a chase in a tunnel in Paris in 1997.
He has also accused them of racism and harassment against his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, which led them to renounce the crown and move to the United States in 2020.
