He attended a proceeding before three UK Court of Appeal justices
Photo: File:Prince Harry arrives at the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London 20 January 2020 (49413820711).jpg: DFID - UK Department for International Developmentderivative work: Minerva97, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Prince Harry made a rare appearance in court last week as he tried to regain government-funded protection in the UK, reported the Associated Press.
The British royal and Duke of Sussex was backed by a small security detail enlarged by the addition of court officers. He acknowledged cameras with a wave before ducking into a private entrance for the hearing before three Court of Appeal justices, which was livestreamed.
According to AP News, the appearance reflected the importance of the case to Harry.
The prince’s police bodyguards were taken from him in February 2020 when he relinquished his role as a working royal family member and relocated to the US with wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. A Home Office committee determined that there was “no basis for publicly funded security support for the duke and duchess within Great Britain,” as per a statement published by AP News.
Instead, Harry was offered “bespoke” protection as needed – a move backed by the High Court last year. However, the prince alleged that news and social media harassment put his family at risk whenever he visited the UK.
Harry’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, said in court papers that he had encountered at least two significant security threats since his protection was removed: Al-Qaida had released a document indicating that Muslims would be pleased with Harry’s assassination; in New York, paparazzi had pursued him and Markle.
He asked permission to privately fund a police detail for his stays in the UK, but his request was shot down by a judge when a government lawyer said that officers should not serve as the wealthy’s private security. Fatima argued that the group reviewing Harry’s security requirements did not adhere to its own process and failed to conduct a risk management assessment.
“The appellant does not accept that bespoke means better. In fact, in his submission, it means that he has been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment,” the attorney said in a statement published by AP News.
A government lawyer said that Harry’s argument in lower court was based on an “inappropriate, formalist interpretation” of the government’s evaluation, according to AP News.
“The appeal is fairly to be characterized in the same way. It involves a continued failure to see the wood for the trees, advancing propositions available only by reading small parts of the evidence, and now the judgment, out of context and ignoring the totality of the picture,” attorney James Eadie said in a statement published by AP News.
A written decision on the case is expected to be issued later on.
Harry was the first senior member of the British royal family to step into a witness box in over a century.
