Prince Harry files claim over police protection for family

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The Duke of Sussex is fighting for permission to personally pay for police protection when in the UK as he fears he and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their two children could otherwise be unsafe. As the news he is seeking a judicial review against a Home Office refusal broke, other royal affairs were thrown into the pubic discussion – including one from 20 years ago unearthed by royal author Omid Scobie.

The co-author of Finding Freedom, the unofficial biography of the Sussexes, wrote on Twitter: “THROWBACK: In May 2002, The Guardian carried a report claiming that Prince Charles privately paid for two full-time police protection officers for his then-longterm mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles. A Palace spokesperson called it a ‘private matter’.”

The story, which dates back to 2002, brought forward the allegation the Prince of Wales was paying for two full-time security staff for his consort – then Camilla Parker Bowles, now Duchess of Cornwall.

Prince Charles’s spokeswoman said: “Whatever the prince is providing is a private matter.”

Charles and Camilla were not married at the time, so the move fueled speculation about their relationship and sparked scrutiny over the increased protection, although it was done privately and not through the royal protection budget.

The kind of protection the Prince of Wales hired was a trusted retired Personal Protection Officer (PPO).

The first comments of the possibility Prince Harry might hire a formed Scotland Yard PPO to protect Meghan emerged in 2016.

The couple had been dating for around two months and in a statement confirming their relationship, the Duke condemned the “abuse and harassment” his then-girlfriend was being subjected to.

In response to Mr Scobie’s tweet, one Twitter user calling themselves ontvnow wrote: “What’s your point, it clearly says ‘security staff’ not ‘police’.

“Harry is more than welcome to do the same and pay for ‘security staff’ exactly like Charles did.”

Another one, under the name westcoastwoman, said: “It clearly states full-time security staff – not police. Also, Charles is the future Monarch. Harry is not.”

The Duke, who lost his taxpayer-funded police security after stepping back from royal duties in 2020, says his private security team does not have adequate jurisdiction abroad, meaning they cannot replicate the work of police protection in the UK, with their access to local intelligence and legal jurisdiction.

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A legal representative for Harry said: “Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life.

“He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.”

They added he wants to personally fund police protection, “not to impose on the taxpayer”, which he offered in talks with the Queen over the Sussexes’ future role in January 2020 at Sandringham.

The representative said the petition was dismissed.

Prince Harry's claim about why he has not returned to UK

Through the application for a judicial review, a challenge in the High Court against the decision of a public body or government department, Harry is hoping for trouble-free visits to his home country.

The legal claim, they confirmed, was filed in September.

The representative added: “The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in.

“With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.”

While Harry’s battle for UK police protection led to some angry criticism of him and Meghan, many members of the public showed their support for the Duke under Mr Scobie’s tweet.

Twitter user Annette Kavoki wrote: “This is about punishing Harry for living a successful life in California. They hate he is not struggling. But let them continue. The more they persecute him, the more he is blessed.”

And Poppy said: “His car was chased at high speed by paparazzi during his last visit to London. Just like his mother. He was not protected.”

The Duke’s latest move follows a security incident in London in July 2021 when his car was chased by photographers as he left a charity event.

Clarence House has been approached for comment.

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