Prince Harry has been branded hypocritical by an expert for travelling to war-torn Ukraine after being vocal about security concerns when travelling to Britain. The Duke of Sussex even declared “my life is at stake”, over changes to security surrounding his lengthy legal fight with the Home Office after his round-the-clock royal protection was axed following quitting royal duties.
Speaking to The Sun, royal biographer Hugo Vickers was positive about Harry’s work but questioned Harry’s behaviour involving security. He said: “Going into a war zone. Well, he knows what he’s doing when he’s doing those things, and he knows it’s more important to go there than to worry about his personal security. But I take the point, there is a hypocritical element there.”
He added: “You know, he’s not going to be in any particular danger in the UK. In fact, when we saw him in, sort of, quite safe-looking vehicles, and he was swept in when he went to Clarence House, certainly, and, you know, to the other engagements. I mean, he doesn’t get police outriders, fine, but, I mean, why should he?”
Mr Vickers added: “Of course, the sort of strange part of it is that he goes on about security a lot, and going into Ukraine is presumably extremely dangerous.”
The Duke of Sussex was invited to Kyiv by the Ukrainian government just days before ringing in his 41st birthday. The duke was received during his tour of the capital, at the invite of Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, and CEO of the Superhumans trauma centre in Lviv Olga Rudnieva.
The aim of Prince Harry’s visit to the Ukrainian capital was to promote the work of his Invictus Games Foundation and to celebrate the recovery and rehabilitation of thousands of veterans.
Harry’s trip to the country came after he met King Charles in London last Wednesday, their first face-to-face meeting since February 2024, when the King publicly stated he had been diagnosed with cancer.
The dispute between Prince Harry and the government arose after he and Meghan stepped back from frontline royal duties in January 2020 and moved overseas.
Prince Harry has previously said that worries about safety have prevented him from coming to the UK and bringing his wife and children, but an interview with the Guardian revealed Harry may be reconsidering this notion.
The lengthy legal challenge saw the Prince argue in court that the government committee responsible for planning security for the royals did not consider the particulars of his circumstances properly in 2020. However, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal earlier this year.
Prince Harry’s security remains outside the automatic, high level of protection which is provided for senior royals.