Henry of Englandpolice when he is on British soil than other members of the royal family. This was confirmed last May by the United Kingdom Court of Appeal, which dismissed the legal appeal presented by the Duke of Sussex against the Government’s decision to lower the level of security for him and his family when they visit their native country. It was the youngest son of King Charles III who had to pay to have a private protection team on his rare visits to London. But it looks like that could change, and Prince Harry has achieved a small victory. As reported, the Home Office has “ordered a threat assessment” for the first time since he retired from royal duties and a review of its decision to strip Henry of England of his automatic right to armed protection as part of the British royal family.
The Executive Committee for the Protection of Public Figures and Royalty (Ravec), the body that made the decision to withdraw security, has already begun its review and has received evidence from the police, the British Government and the prince himself. According to information obtained by the tabloid, a decision on the matter is expected to be made next January. If it is established that you need 24-hour protection during your visits, it will be up to the British taxpayer to pay for it. Currently, and following the court’s decision last May, you must inform the Metropolitan Police 30 days before arriving in the country and request a security review for each occasion.
Although the public body’s decision to review this situation was made known this Monday, December 8, they have been reporting for months about the change in the institutions’ position. Last October, the aforementioned newspaper revealed that Henry of England had written privately to the Minister of the Interior, Shabana Mahmood, urging her to rethink her approach to security, as she continues to claim that it is not safe for her, nor her two children, Archie and Lilibert, to go to her native country.
In October, a government spokesperson said that “the protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.” “It has been our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information about such agreements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect people’s safety,” he said.
After losing his appeal in May, the youngest son of Charles III said he felt “devastated” and described his defeat in court as “a good trick of the establishment the old-fashioned way.” Nor did he hesitate to point the finger directly at the royal house, and specifically, at his father, after his loss in court: “He doesn’t want to talk to me for security reasons. I never asked him to intervene [en la disputa legal]; I asked him to step aside and let the experts do their job.” At the same time that the Home Office claimed to be “satisfied” with the High Court’s decision not to establish his automatic right to police protection, the prince denounced that “the other side” had won by “keeping him in danger”: “I can’t imagine a world in which I can bring my wife and children back at this point.”
After that interview, it seemed that the relationship between father and son had reached a point of no return, in which positions were increasingly separated. But both, through their spokespersons, were approaching positions until 19 months after their last meeting, when the Duke of Sussex took a plane that took him from Los Angeles to London after learning of the monarch’s cancer diagnosis. In his longest visit to the United Kingdom since Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, he managed to arrange a 55-minute meeting with his father. The Duke of Sussex seems to have assumed after five years of estrangement that, if he wants to regain the trust of the British royal family, he must remain silent, avoid speaking more than he should through his official spokespersons and not leak information to the British media. Therefore, from that private meeting where they had tea, a photograph of his two grandchildren.
The rapprochement of positions would also have led to this reassessment of their security. As reported by British media, Harry of England has not received a full risk assessment since April 2019, when he was considered such a significant target that he was placed in the highest category: level seven out of seven. The only two people at similar risk at the time were the late Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prime Minister Theresa May. In recent years, several people have been jailed for plotting to murder Prince Harry, inciting attacks against him and making threats. It is known that there are three British fugitives who have been imprisoned and released.
