Prince Harry is considering canceling his upcoming trip to the UK next month over security concerns. The Duke of Sussex was due to attend the UK for a celebration of ten years of the Invictus Games, and he was scheduled to give a speech at St Paul’s Cathedral.
However after losing his security battle against the UK Home Office earlier this year and citing his concerns over safety, it appears he could instead appear via video link or a pre-recorded message. His loss at the High Court has seen him landed with a bill totalling £1million in legal costs and he’s said to be appealing the decision and to be “extremely disappointed” with the security plans for when he visits the UK.
A source told The Express: “Whenever Harry travels to the UK, his trips are always dependent on how secure he is. Before deciding whether to attend the Invictus Games anniversary event, his security team must be sure that St. Paul’s is adequately protected by the metropolitan police and his own security needs are met while he’s in London.”
The source added: “Harry wants to spend more time in the UK with his family, but there’s no way he can do that while a question mark hangs over his security detail.”
The source also explained that Harry has been left “extremely disappointed” over his security, and as a result this could see him stay home in California and join the Invictus Games celebrations by video link or a pre-recorded message.
In February Harry lost his security battle against the Home Office and Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) at the UK High Court after fighting them over security concerns. The Duke had been trying to overturn a ruling which saw his security status downgraded after he stopped being a “working royal”, as he cited concerns over his safety and that of his wife and two young children.
Harry’s legal team had previously claimed he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” by RAVEC, with Harry’s barrister Shaheed Fatima KC telling the High Court: “The claimant’s consistent position has been, and remains, that he should be given state security in light of the threats/risks he faces.”
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, former head of royal protection Dai Davies says that despite the security concerns, Harry will still return to the UK. He explained: “He won’t be put off, his Chief of Protection appears to be an ex-Sergeant in royalty protection and is obviously highly trained. The other thing is even if he [Harry] doesn’t have armed protection, he will get the liaison structure that would go with it.”
He added that the RAVEC will still ensure the Duke is protected and won’t leave him exposed and that Harry has been protected whilst visiting the UK since 2020.
Davies added: “In other words, as far as it’s humanly possible if RAVEC decided through intelligence – and they get the best intelligence there is – after this furore over his protection, you can rest assured they have gone over it. They have stood by it, the government has stood by it, and the Home Office. It’s nothing personal, and as a former professional, I would apply those principles of, ‘Is it necessary and does the intelligence warrant it?’ Every time he’s been here of late, to see his father or royalty, he’s had royalty protection.”
