Harry Prepares for Showdown in Police Security Lawsuit Against Government

Prince Harry and his legal team are preparing for a crunch hearing over whether his police protection lawsuit against the British government can go ahead.

The Duke of Sussex is suing the Home Office for denying him Metropolitan Police bodyguards during trips to the United Kingdom. Lawyers from both sides will argue during a July 7 High Court hearing in London.

Defeat for the prince would mean the end of a battle to get his family a level of protection in Britain that he says is necessary to keep them safe from far right extremists and terrorists. The California-based royal argues his private security detail, who cannot carry guns in the U.K., are not enough and offered to pay for the service.

Home Office lawyers came out swinging in their own past court filings, stating that protection by specialist Metropolitan Police officers cannot be bought. However, the Royal Household could get dragged into the case due to the fact it is represented on the committee that made the decision, which is called RAVEC.

Prince Harry's Team 'Asking About the Membership'

Harry's lawyer previously asked for names of those who sit on the committee, meaning it is possible a specific member of the Royal household could be identified as having been involved in making the decision if the duke gets his way.

Shaheed Fatima, his U.K. attorney, told London's High Court in February: "We've been asking about the membership."

Quoted by the Press Association, she added that the request was related to "the relevance of the claimant's knowledge about who he was dealing with and in what capacity."

Any names divulged would likely be staff rather than royals themselves but some courtiers work for specific family members, meaning the case could nevertheless get difficult for Harry's relatives.

The Sandringham Summit

Harry also brought his family into discussion around the case through a January public statement from his legal representative, which said he had first offered to pay for his police protection during a meeting with the royals at Sandringham in January, 2020.

The crisis talks, nicknamed the Sandringham Summit in the media, were where Harry, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Prince William thrashed out the terms of the Sussex exit from the palace.

The statement, obtained by Newsweek, read: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK. In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home.

"The Duke first offered to pay personally for UK police protection for himself and his family in January of 2020 at Sandringham," the statement continued.

"That offer was dismissed. He remains willing to cover the cost of security, as not to impose on the British taxpayer. As is widely known, others who have left public office and have an inherent threat risk receive police protection at no cost to them. The goal for Prince Harry has been simple—to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the UK so his children can know his home country."

Prince Harry and the Press

The case has a deeply personal backdrop for Harry as it followed an incident in July 2021, involving photographers who reportedly followed him on the day of the WellChild Awards in London.

Harry had come back to Britain to unveil a statue in memory of his mother, who died in Paris in 1997 while paparazzi photographers were following her car.

The January statement from Harry's legal representative read: "During his last visit to the UK in July 2021—to unveil a statue in honour of his late mother—his security was compromised due to the absence of police protection, whilst leaving a charity event.

"After another attempt at negotiations was also rejected, he sought a judicial review in September 2021 to challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hopes that this could be re-evaluated for the obvious and necessary protection required."

Since then, Harry and Meghan made a public return to Britain for the queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations in early June, though it is not clear whether he was offered police protection.

They watched Trooping the Colour, the queen's birthday parade, from a side office and were guests at a Service of Thanksgiving, at St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, on June 3.

Home Office Says Harry 'Failed to Afford the Necessary Measure of Respect'

The Home Office, however, is likely to come out swinging having issued a strongly worded rebuttal earlier in the build up to the trial.

A court filing from February 2022, seen by Newsweek, read: "[Prince Harry] has failed to afford the necessary measure of respect to [the Home Office] and RAVEC as the expert, and democratically accountable, decision-maker on matters of protective security and associated risk assessment."

It added: "Personal protective security by the police is not available on a privately financed basis and RAVEC does not make decisions on the provision of such security on the basis that any financial contribution could be sought or obtained to pay for it.

"RAVEC has in fact attributed to the claimant a sort of exceptional status whereby he is considered for personal protective security by the police, with the precise arrangements being dependent on the reason for his presence in Great Britain and by reference to the functions he carries out when present."