The Duke of Sussex has lost a legal challenge over the levels of security he and his family are entitled to while in the UK.
Prince Harry had been seeking to overturn a decision that had downgraded his security after he stopped being a working royal and moved to the US with the Duchess of Sussex.
His lawyers had argued that he had been “singled out” for “inferior treatment”, but the court ruling upheld that there had been nothing unlawful about how the decision had been reached.
Prince Harry has previously said that worries about safety have prevented him from coming to the UK and bringing his wife Meghan and their children.
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.
Friday’s ruling comes after Prince Harry appealed against a judicial review of a High Court decision regarding his protection in the UK.
That judicial review was asked to decide whether the High Court had acted lawfully when it upheld the government’s position that Prince Harry and his family should not be automatically entitled to the same level of security as other senior royals.
The current arrangement does not prohibit the prince from getting police protection, but it is not automatic and he has to give plenty of notice of visits.
While Prince Harry does still get police protection in the UK, he has argued that the levels he is entitled to could expose him and his family to danger.
Decisions overs the security of senior royals are taken on behalf of the Home Office by a committee called the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec).
Prince Harry’s legal team have argued that Ravec did not properly re-assess the threats he faced when considering his situation in 2020, shortly after he and the Duchess of Sussex stepped back from frontline royal duties.
Ravec had concluded that because Prince Harry was going to be an infrequent visitor to the UK, his security needs would be assessed on a case by case basis.
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