Prince Harry’s police protection row details to remain SECRET

The Duke of Sussex Prince Harry is suing the Home Office for refusing to pay for bodyguards with public funds.

Harry, 37, claims he feels “unsafe” in the UK since he left royal duties and the benefits that come with it two years ago to live in California with Meghan Markle.

He wants to employ his own armed Met Police bodyguards, but the Home Office has refused, and police are not “guns for hire,” according to sources.

Harry also claims that his private security team in the United States has proper international jurisdiction and access to UK intelligence material, both of which are required to keep his family safe.

Both sides argued in the High Court last month that some court records in the case should be kept private.

Mr Justice Swift ordered today that some aspects of the court dispute would remain confidential, and that some papers will be redacted.

The “great bulk” of what should be suppressed from witness testimony is reported to be agreed upon by Harry and the Home Office.

“Avoiding the risk that putting information into the public domain concerning security arrangements made on previous occasions, and the general approach to whether and if so, what arrangements should be made, may impair the effectiveness of arrangements in place now, or that may be put in place in the future,” the judge said.

He also stated that the evidence presented in support of the duke’s claim contained “irrelevant material” that was “inadmissible and should be omitted from the proceedings.”

Last month, Harry told the court that the UK will always be his home and that he should continue to get taxpayer-funded protection since he is the “immediate” heir to the throne.

“This claim is about the claimant not feeling secure when he is in the UK given the security arrangements applied to him in June 2021 and will continue to be applied to him,” Harry’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima QC, said.

“It goes without saying that he wants to return to see his family and friends, as well as continue to support the organisations that are so dear to his heart,” she added.

“Most importantly, this is and will always be his home.”

The hearing heard both parties’ requests to keep some sections of the court records in the case confidential.

It is said that this is the first time a member of the Royal Family has taken legal action against Her Majesty’s administration.

It comes after Harry stated he would not be travelling to the UK for the Queen and Prince Philip’s Thanksgiving Service at Westminster Abbey.

When the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties, they were relieved of their round-the-clock security.

“It’s too risky,” Harry lamented, adding that he is unable to return with Meg, Archie, and Lilibet.

When he stays at Frogmore Cottage or attends royal functions, he is protected, but when he wants to see friends or visit his UK charities, he is on his own.

“Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life,” a legal representative for the duke stated.

“He is the sixth in line to the throne, has done two tours of combat in Afghanistan, and his family has faced well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats in recent years.”

“While his job inside the institution has evolved, his status as a member of the royal family has remained same.” The threat to him and his family hasn’t gone away either.

“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.”

Buckingham Palace has not issued a comment.