Dec. 5 (UPI) — Prince Harry took his fight with Britain’s Home Office over his security to the country’s High Court on Tuesday, where he argued that he has been treated unfairly and possibly put in danger.
The hearing centers on publicly funded protection for the prince when he returns home to London. The Home Office said it downgraded Prince Harry’s protection after he stepped down from official royal duties and moved to the United States in 2020.
The prince’s attorney said, though, regardless of his royal working status, Prince Harry is a high-profile royal and the threats against him remain as before. They said that Ravec, the committee that establishes security for the royals, has been shortsighted in their decisions regarding his security needs.
“[There is] no good reason for singling out the claimant [Prince Harry] this way,” Prince Harry’s attorney Shaheed Fatima said.
“Ravec should have considered the ‘impact’ 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 — and his ongoing charity work and service to the public.”
The Home Office said, though, that Harry’s security would be decided on a case-by-case basis and would be tailored specifically for him, instead of receiving automatic arrangements. Home Office attorney James Eadie said it also was a matter or properly channeling limited government resources.
“It is judged to be right in principle that the allocation of finite public resources which results from protective security provided by the state be allocated to individuals who are acting in the interests of the state through their public role,” Eadie said.
The case is expected to continue until Thursday.
Prince Harry lost a legal challenge in May that would have allowed him to pay for additional police protection while in Britain.