Prince Harry is pressing ahead with his legal battle against the Home Office over his taxpayer-funded security, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
This newspaper has learnt that a two-day hearing will be held at the Court of Appeal in April in the latest dramatic twist to Harry’s three-year legal fight with the Government.
The Duke of Sussex‘s determination to restore his round-the-clock security while in the UK is understood to be part of his desire to return here more regularly.
The looming courtroom showdown comes after the MoS revealed last week how the Duke has sought advice from trusted aides in Britain on how to mastermind a return from self-imposed exile in the United States.
Earlier this year, a High Court judge ruled that Harry had ‘comprehensively lost’ a ‘frankly hopeless’ bid to appeal against a Home Office decision about his UK security.
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Prince Harry (Pictured leaving the High Court is pressing ahead with his legal battle against the Home Office over his taxpayer-funded security, The Mail on Sunday can reveal
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It comes shortly after the Mail On Sunday revealed that the Duke (Pictured) was attempting to make a return to Britain following his self-imposed exile in the United States
He had sought a judicial review over a decision made by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) to remove his right to automatic police protection after he left the working Royal Family.
However in May, the Court of Appeal granted him leave to challenge the High Court judgment.
Now a court official has confirmed that a date has been set for the Duke’s appeal to be heard in London, starting on either April 8 or 9.
The hearing is also listed on an official, publicly available website. It shows how the case was passed to the Court of Appeal listing office on July 12.
The King and his son are believed to be locked in a stalemate over Harry’s decision to pursue his legal fight, which has cost the British taxpayer £500,000 so far.
Charles is said to find the dispute ‘very tricky’ because it means ‘His Majesty’s son is suing His Majesty’s Government’ and wants no involvement in it.
‘Harry, however, reportedly believes that members of his father’s household influenced the decision to remove his enhanced security.
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward described Harry as ‘tunnel visioned’ and said the King knows his son is ‘very stubborn’.
‘It’s damaging to his father,’ she added. ‘It’s embarrassing to his father on a more personal level, to think that his own son doesn’t feel safe in the country in his own homeland.
‘He doesn’t let things go, Harry. That’s his nature, a bit like his mum. It’s very Diana to pursue something and Harry is just not letting go in spite of advice to the contrary. I do feel that this is certainly not helping any situation.’
Harry received full publicly funded protection before stepping back as a working royal and moving to Montecito, California, with his American wife Meghan Markle four years ago.
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King Charles III (Pictured in 2024) is said to have found the legal dispute difficult as it means ‘His Majesty’s son is suing His Majesty’s Government’
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Harry received fully tax-payer funded protection before stepping back as a working royal and moving to Montecito, California with Meghan Markle (Pictured at San Basilio de Palenque)
He still receives protection when he returns to Britain in specific circumstances but must give 28 days’ notice of his plans.
While the Duke is not seeking a permanent return to the UK, the move to proceed with his legal fight against the Home Office is believed to be an indication that he wants to spend more time here.
Sources have told this newspaper the Duke had been consulting people ‘from his old life’, which, it is claimed, signified the first stage in a strategy to ‘rehabilitate’ him towards spending more time in the UK, repairing his fractured relationship with his father and potentially initiating a partial return to the Royal Family.
He is not believed to have seen his father since a brief meeting earlier this year when it was announced the monarch had been diagnosed with cancer.
In his recent biography of the Princess of Wales, Robert Jobson said the King and Harry spent only 30 minutes together at Clarence House. ‘Clearly not nearly enough to mend the shattered bridges, not after all the disparagement and misrepresentations echoing from Montecito,’ he wrote. ‘After a brief embrace and short conversation, they said their goodbyes.’
One source last night said Harry’s apparent refusal to drop the legal case risks undermining a possible rapprochement with his father, adding: ‘Getting the trust back is a huge issue.’
Ms Seward added: ‘It’s not going to help any reconciliation because it will upset the King. But he knows his son and probably realises Harry isn’t going to let go.’
Harry believes that he is currently unable to bring his wife, Meghan, or their two children, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, to the UK.
His lawyers argue he’s been treated unfairly by the changes to his police protection, because he still faces significant security threats.
Lord Justice Bean gave Harry the green light to appeal as there was a ‘real prospect of success’ in the Duke’s argument that Ravec should have followed its written policy.
But he rejected a move to expedite the appeal, saying Harry should not ‘jump the queue because of his status’.
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One source said Harry’s (Pictured at the coronation of King Charles III) supposed refusal to drop the legal case risks undermining a possible reconciliation with his father
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The Duke of Sussex is reportedly believed to inherit millions of pounds from his the late Queen Mother (Pictured with Princess Diana in 1992) on his 40th birthday
Is he in line for millions from his great gran?
Prince Harry is to receive millions of pounds from the late Queen Mother when he celebrates his 40th birthday next Sunday, reports say.
The Queen Mum is believed to have deposited £19 million into a trust fund for her great-grandchildren in 1994.
Reports at the time suggested that William and Harry would claim their shares in two payments – on their 21st and 40th birthdays.
Royal experts suggest Prince Harry will be in line for a bigger share than his brother as compensation for not being a sovereign.
A former Palace aide told The Times the trust ‘was a way of passing a slice of her estate down in a tax-efficient way’.
Zara and Peter Phillips and the Duke of York’s daughters Beatrice and Eugenie are among the other beneficiaries.
