{"id":490089,"date":"2025-10-11T04:25:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T04:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/490089\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T04:25:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T04:25:26","slug":"prince-harry-makes-new-bid-for-taxpayer-funded-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/490089\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Harry makes new bid for taxpayer-funded security"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Duke of Sussex has revived his security battle with the Home Office by writing to the home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, about his case.<\/p>\n<p>A formal request has been lodged by the prince with the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) which is overseen by the Home Office, asking for a risk-assessment process to be conducted.<\/p>\n<p>Sources close to the process confirm that Harry has written to Mahmood, having previously been in correspondence with her predecessor, Yvette Cooper.<\/p>\n<p>A source close to the duke said that while he recognises his case will not be top of Mahmood\u2019s priority list, he has asked for Ravec to \u201cabide by its own rules\u201d \u2014 that a risk management board (RMB) should be conducted for each member of the royal family and other qualifying VIPs every year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cI can confirm that the duke has written to the new Home Secretary asking for a risk management board to be conducted,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u201cWhile he realises this will not be top of the incoming secretary\u2019s in-tray it is something which should have happened a long time ago. We have had the can kicked down the road for quite a while now but all he\u2019s asking is for Ravec to abide by its own rules which state that an RMB should be conducted each year. The last one for the duke was in 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/royal-family\/article\/prince-harry-royal-security-committee-correctly-departed-procedure-m8ktb2mdf\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Prince Harry\u2019s life \u2018is at stake\u2019 in security dispute, court told<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Home Office sources have confirmed that requests for an assessment have been made by the duke but said it was government policy not to comment on individual cases in order to protect their security. <\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">A government spokesperson said:<b> <\/b>\u201cThe UK government\u2019s 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\u2019 security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Ravec makes decisions on the protective security of the royal family and key public figures in the UK. Its membership includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and the royal household, who work together to advise the independent chair to make decisions on who should be given protection and at what level. <\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">This year, Harry, 41, lost his final appeal in the High Court to have his police protection reinstated in the UK.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The duke\u2019s police security is based on a \u201ccase-by-case\u201d basis and Harry gives a month\u2019s notice before each visit. He is arguing that this is not sufficient as each case is not being assessed according to the risk against him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Harry has complained that he was denied a formal assessment from an RMB when his security was downgraded in 2020 after he stepped down from his official royal role. <\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">When he travelled to the UK in September, individual police forces were alerted in advance. In London, officers from the Metropolitan Police carried out a security sweep of the Royal Lancaster Hotel hosting the WellChild awards, where he gave a speech.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">It is understood that the British Transport Police were alerted when he travelled to Nottingham to visit a community recording studio to support a BBC Children in Need project.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, attends the Balenciaga Womenswear Spring\/Summer 2026 show.\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/\/87056771-ee28-4ec9-99b0-9a670e17b2ce.jpg\" class=\"responsive-sc-1nnon4d-0 bAbKns\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Meghan made a surprise appearance at the Balenciaga fashion show in Paris last week<\/p>\n<p>ARNOLD JEROCKI\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/royal-family\/article\/prince-harry-wins-right-to-appeal-against-court-ruling-on-his-security-50sclj69f\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The duke\u2019s attempts to have his security reinstated in the UK have <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/article\/prince-harry-meghan-high-court-uk-security-cfkpltnx3\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">so far been unsuccessful<\/a>. The High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled last year that a decision taken by Ravec in early 2020 to remove security from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after their departure from their official roles was lawful. <\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Harry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/royal-family\/article\/prince-harry-security-taxpayer-5dq66vb6f\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">challenged the court ruling<\/a>. At his appeal, Shaheed Fatima KC, acting for the duke, said: \u201cWhen Ravec made its February 2020 decision about the appellant\u2019s protective security, it did not apply its own terms of reference to that decision-making process.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Fatima told the court that Ravec did not get an assessment from an \u201cexpert specialist body called the risk management board, or the RMB\u201d and came up with a \u201cdifferent and so-called \u2018bespoke process\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">She told the Court of Appeal that the failure to do a risk management board assessment for Harry meant that Ravec \u201cdid not have the expert analysis that it needed\u201d to determine whether he should be treated like people in the \u201cother VIP\u201d category.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">The Home Office, which has the legal responsibility for the committee\u2019s decisions, successfully opposed the duke\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Speaking after his defeat in the High Court in May, Harry told the BBC that the case surrounding his security was like \u201ca good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">He called on Cooper, then home secretary, to review the case \u201cvery, very carefully\u201d and added: \u201cI would ask the prime minister to step in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/uk\/royal-family\/article\/prince-harry-and-meghan-to-step-down-as-senior-royals-psq2rl2p5\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Harry left royal duties nearly six years ago<\/a>. Since then, he has returned to the UK on only a few occasions, stating that the country feels unsafe for his children: Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.<\/p>\n<p class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">In October his wife <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/life-style\/fashion\/article\/meghan-duchess-paris-fashion-week-balenciaga-wkc3dsp8t\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meghan<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/life-style\/fashion\/article\/meghan-duchess-paris-fashion-week-balenciaga-wkc3dsp8t\" class=\"link__RespLink-sc-1ocvixa-0 csWvlP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travelled to France for Paris Fashion Week<\/a>. The duchess, 44, made a surprise appearance at the Balenciaga show where she was greeted by Anna Wintour, Vogue\u2019s global editorial director and Baz Lurhmann, the film director.<\/p>\n<p id=\"last-paragraph\" class=\"responsive__Paragraph-sc-1pktst5-0 gaEeqC\">Last year the couple visited Colombia and Nigeria to promote their charity work and Harry was seen at events in New York this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Duke of Sussex has revived his security battle with the Home Office by writing to the home&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":490090,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,12,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-490089","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115353638234340852","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490089\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}