Prince Harry is arguing for his and his family’s ability to receive police protection in the U.K. The Duke of Sussex, 39, provided a statement in his fight against a ruling that removed him of his automatic right to receive security after stepping down from his royal duties in 2020.
Harry’s legal team shared his statement during the three-day hearing, which took place in London, as he was not physically present in court.
“It was with great sadness to both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020,” Harry said in his statement, per ITV. “The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States. That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”
Harry and Meghan Markle, 42, share son Archie and daughter Lilibet together. In his statement, the U.K. native also pointed out, “I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.”
After stepping back from their royal duties in 2020, the Duke of Sussex offered to pay the costs of security for him and his family. However, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) decided to reject his offer, thereby removing his ability to have guaranteed police protection.
Meghan and Harry moved to California in 2020 and visited the U.K. only once when they attended the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
Despite Harry’s concerns over the lack of security, the Home Office said that his position being “materially changed” supported the fact that he “would no longer be a working member of the Royal Family and would be living abroad for the majority of the time.”
Harry’s lawyers argued, however, that RAVEC “should have considered the ‘impact’ that a successful attack on the claimant would have, bearing in mind his status, background and profile within the royal family — which he was born into and which he will have for the rest of his life. RAVEC should have considered, in particular, the impact on the U.K.’s reputation of a successful attack on the claimant.”