Prince Harry may be forced to pay up to £1million in legal fees after losing his court case against the Home Office over the decision to remove his taxpayer-funded security.
When Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from the Royal Family in 2020, it was decided to strip them of the security details that they would have received if they had stayed members in the UK.
In September 2021 Harry first filed a complaint about the decision made by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) to not provide him with free security when the family travels to the UK.
The following year the Duke of Sussex was granted the right to challenge the decision, with his legal team claiming that his expensive US security were unable to protect him adequately in Britain.
But on Wednesday, High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled that the decision taken by the Home Office and Ravec would be upheld, with Harry now facing a costly legal bill.
Prince Harry’s legal team have announced they intend to appeal the decision, with a spokesperson saying: “The Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for a fair and lawful application of Ravec’s own rules, ensuring that he receives the same consideration as others in accordance with Ravec’s own written policy.
“In February 2020, Ravec failed to apply its written policy to the Duke of Sussex and excluded him from a particular risk analysis. The Duke’s case is that the so-called ‘bespoke process’ that applies to him, is no substitute for that risk analysis.
“The Duke of Sussex hopes he will obtain justice from the Court of Appeal, and makes no further comment while the case is ongoing.”
If the appeal fails Harry may have to pay the legal costs of both sides, which by October last year had already reached £407,000 for the Home Office, including £265,437 for the Government Legal Department and £137,864 for barristers.
These costs are likely to have risen since then as there was a three-day trial in December, plus the fees for Harry’s own lawyers Schillings International will cause the price to rise possibly over £1 million.
A spokesperson for the Home Office shared that they were happy with the ruling on Wednesday, saying: “We are pleased that the Court has found in favour of the Government’s position in this case, and we are carefully considering our next steps. It would be inappropriate to comment further.
“The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
