Prince Harry’s Security Concerns Ignored by Royal Household, Court Documents Reveal

According to court documents, the Duke of Sussex attempted to bypass the royal household by lobbying a senior government advisor over his security concerns.

Prince Harry offered to pay for his own security at the royal family's Sandringham summit in January 2020 but felt his concerns were not given proper consideration.

Among those at the meeting were Sir Edward Young, Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary, and Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the Privy Purse, both of whom promised to get back to him, it is claimed.

Prince Harry was not aware at the time that Sir Edward was a member of the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RIVEC), which makes decisions over who is afforded police protection.

However, he was so frustrated by the lack of response that he complained, legal papers allege.

He orchestrated a meeting with Sir Mark Sedwill, then cabinet secretary and national security advisor to Boris Johnson, before reinforcing his concerns with him one week later.

Justin Rushbrook Casey, the Duke's barrister, said the royal had believed and hoped that his offer to pay would be communicated to RIVEC.

But he added that it became increasingly clear to him that his concerns, in particular as regards his and his family's security, were not being given proper consideration.

On February 28, 2020, the chair of RIVEC wrote to the royal household stating that the Sussexes would no longer be entitled to automatic police protection when in the UK as their plan to live abroad as private citizens did not fit readily into any category of its framework.

Their metropolitan police security was then promptly withdrawn at very short notice, Rushbrook said.

It was not the Duke's choice and it was against his wishes that his family's protection was withdrawn as soon as it was at the beginning of what was meant to be a transitional year in which he and Meghan were permitted to start working commercially.

The court documents indicate that only in due course did they expect to be in a position to pay for their own security, if necessary.

The statements were made in a formal response lodged with the High Court in defamation proceedings against the Mail on Sunday.

The Duke is suing the newspaper over a story that said that he had tried to keep secret parts of his legal fight with the Home Office and attempted to spin the dispute in his favour by claiming he had offered to pay for police protection.

He won the first stage in July when Mr Justice Nicklin concluded that the article was defamatory in parts because it suggested the Prince's actions were discreditable and that he had intended to mislead the public.

The Duke is also embroiled in two separate legal actions against the Home Office over the decision to deny him and his family automatic security.

He won the right to a judicial review after arguing he had been denied a clear and full explanation of the composition of RIVEC and others involved in its decision-making.

A second application for a judicial review, based on his offer to pay for protection, which he claims should have prompted the Home Office to quash and retake its decision, is pending.

The Duke did not make his offer to pay personally for his protection directly to RIVEC prior to launching legal action against the Home Office last September, he admitted.

But he considers that irrelevant as he had made his position clear at the Sandringham Summit, via the Royal Household, which was expected to act as a conduit.

In January this year, his office released a public statement stating that the private security team he and the Duchess used in the US could not replicate the protection needed while in the UK, meaning that they were unable to return home.

It said their offer to fund their police protection personally had been dismissed.

Sources close to the couple said that RIVEC's decision-making had been unreasonable, opaque and inconsistent, adding that the controversy surrounding their departure from full-time royal duties and the hostility of a range of extremist groups and fixated people made the UK environment particularly risky.

Despite their concerns, the Sussexes flew back to the UK to undertake various engagements in early September, shortly before the Queen died.

The couple were flanked by two former Metropolitan Police officers whom they hired to protect them.