Prince Harry ‘wins fight’ to regain automatic armed security when visiting UK

Prince Harry has reportedly won the right to automatic armed police protection when he and his family visit the UK, after a lengthy high-profile legal battle.

In May last year, the Duke of Sussex lost his court case against the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec) over their decision to remove his right to taxpayer funded police protection after he left as a working member of the royal family.

However, the 41-year-old wrote to the home secretary Shabana Mahmood in September after a stalker, who had previously made online threats, was able to get within a “stone’s throw” of the duke during his recent visit to London.

As a result, Ravec, which is overseen by the Home Office, launched a fresh risk assessment and is said to have determined that the King’s youngest son does meet the threshold for official protection.

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According to the Mail on Sunday, a source close to the Sussexes said: “It’s now a formality. Sources at the Home Office have indicated that security is now nailed on for Harry.”

Under the current guidelines, the duke must inform the Metropolitan Police 30 days before arriving in the UK in order to apply for a security review, which is decided on a case-by-case basis.

As a result, he and his lawyers have argued it is not safe for he and his wife, Meghan, and their two young children, Lilibet and Archie, to visit the country after their 24-hour security was withdrawn in 2020.

After losing his court case in May, the duke said he was “devastated” and described the defeat as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up” and blamed the Royal Household for influencing the decision.

Asked whether he had asked the King to intervene in the dispute over security, Prince Harry said: "I never asked him to intervene - I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs."

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Ravec is made up of security officials from the Metropolitan Police, the royal household and the Home Office who advise an independent chairman.

During a visit to a children’s charity WellChild in September, Harry was granted police protection for one day, during which point a female stalker was able to access the “secure zone”.

During a subsequent trip two days later to the Imperial College London, she attempted to approach him but was allegedly only prevented from doing so by a member of the duke’s private security team.

With Harry’s security reinstated, this could pave the way for a reunion between the King and his California-raised grandchildren, who he has not seen since the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in February 2022.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes declined to comment on “security matters”.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK government’s 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’ security.”