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Prince Harry: Who is responsible for his safety?

Photo: Toby Melville / REUTERS

Prince Harry has lost a legal battle against the Home Office over arrangements for his security in the UK.

The British media reported this unanimously after the written verdict.

The younger son of King Charles III.

and his wife Meghan retired from their royal duties around four years ago and have been living in California with their two children ever since.

As a result, the two lost their taxpayer-funded automatic police protection in Great Britain.

The proceedings, which began in December at the London High Court, specifically concerned the Home Office's decision in 2020 to only grant Prince Harry police protection on a case-by-case basis.

Not an “irrational” decision

Harry's lawyer had accused the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures of making its decision to grant the fifth in line to the British throne less protection based on an inadequate security analysis.

As a result, Harry's children are not adequately protected in Great Britain.

But Harry wants Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to feel just as at home there as they do in the USA.

The Home Office, for its part, claims that Harry is receiving tailored arrangements.

The High Court in London now ruled that the decision was neither illegal nor “irrational” and that there was no procedural injustice.

State protection cannot be bought

In the USA, Harry and Meghan employ their own private security team.

However, they argue that their security guards in Britain do not have sufficient skills or access to intelligence information to protect the family.

Prince Harry therefore offered to cover the costs of his police protection himself during stays in Great Britain.

However, the Interior Ministry also rejected this in May.

The ministry's lawyers argued that it was "not appropriate" for rich people to be able to "buy" government protection when it had previously been decided that taxpayer-funded protections for them were not in the public interest.

Prince Harry rarely visits his home country anymore.

The relationship with the royal family, especially with his older brother, Crown Prince William, is considered to be broken.

After it became known that his father Charles III had cancer.

However, at the beginning of February, Prince Harry visited the king in London.

bbr/dpa/Reuters/AFP