UK denies police protection to Prince Harry

Dismissed the legal case of Prince Harry with which he tried to return to having official police protection during his trips to the United Kingdom.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
23 May 2023 Tuesday 04:23
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UK denies police protection to Prince Harry

Dismissed the legal case of Prince Harry with which he tried to return to having official police protection during his trips to the United Kingdom. Meghan Markle's husband wanted to be able to make private payments to the British Ministry of the Interior (Home Office) so that his and his family's security would continue to be in charge of State services while they were in British territory, but a judge has ruled that it does not give the go-ahead for such a hearing.

This was one of the last issues that kicked in after his resignation in January 2020, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to start a new life outside of the British royal family. The prince's lawyers wanted a judicial review of that rejection of his offer to pay for his own protection in the United Kingdom but for the organization of that security to be taken over by the State.

Harry was seeking the go-ahead of London's High Court for a judicial review of a decision made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), which is part of Britain's Home Office. At the judge's request, London's Metropolitan Police insisted that its officers are not "guns for hire" for the rich and famous, arguing that allowing Harry to pay for official protection would set an "unacceptable precedent".

The duke wanted to maintain the Royal Command of Special Protection (RASP) that protected him and his family before deciding to be private citizens apart from the Windsors, but it seems that the duke's purpose will not come true. His lawyers argued that RAVEC did not have the power to decide such a measure in terms of his security. Specifically, they argued that Enrique had the right to pay for his security in this way, just as British football clubs do the same to maintain order in matches.

All parties involved, the UK Home Office and the London Metropolitan Police, agreed that RAVEC had been reasonable in rejecting Enrique's idea of ​​paying for his security privately because "it is wrong for a police force to put officers in danger after payment of a fee by an individual".

This new British setback to the California-based prince comes after the unexplained event of that "almost catastrophic car chase" by paparazzi that made Meghan Markle so angry. It happened (or not) last Tuesday in New York after a gala in which the exactriz received an award. Many of the reporters present at the scene have denied the story of the Sussexes and the couple left a little bad.