Following Prince Harry’s decision to step back from his duties as a working member of the royal family in 2020, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) decided to remove Harry’s automatic right to U.K. police authority. Prince Harry’s battle of challenging this decision started with a three-day hearing, which began on Monday and was not attended by him.
Per PEOPLE, the Duke of Sussex wants his children “to feel at home” in his native country. He can’t see that happening “if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.” The outlet quotes a portion of the written statement of Prince Harry’s attorneys stating that RAVEC “should have considered the ‘impact’ that 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. RAVEC should have considered, in particular, the impact on the U.K.’s reputation of a successful attack on the claimant.”
The outlet also reveals Harry’s statement that he “felt forced” to give up his royal duties and leave the U.K. in 2020 on the grounds of security concerns for his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, son Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.
Per ITV, Prince Harry said in the statement:
“It was with great sadness to both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020. The U.K. is my home. The U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place where I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States. That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”
He added, “I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.”
Per PEOPLE, the Home Office revealed that RAVEC has looked into the “likely significant public upset” that this step would cause to Prince Harry, completely aware that his mother, Princess Diana, died tragically in 1997 after her vehicle was pursued by a cohort of paparazzi.
Be that as it may, the outlet reports that the Home Office will deal with the security issues for Prince Harry and his family on a case-by-case basis owing to the material change in his position. He is no longer a working member of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to her home state of California in 2020.
In 2022, The Guardian reported Shaheed Fatima and his lawyers’ statements at the Royal Courts of Justice: “This claim is about the fact that the claimant does not feel safe when he is in the UK, given the security arrangements that were applied to him in June 2021 and will continue to be applied to him if he returns.
“And, of course, it should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart. Most of all, this is, and always will be, his home.”
Prince Harry’s evocation of these concerns comes in the wake of his visit to the U.K. in July 2021, when he joined his brother, Prince William, in the event unveiling their mother’s statue in the gardens of Kensington Palace. Per PEOPLE, Prince Harry’s car was reportedly chased by photographers in London.
Additionally, in May 2023, Prince Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson told the outlet that they got caught in a “near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi” in New York City following an event. The spokesperson further added, “While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.”