[quote] Why Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie Will Likely Never Go to the U.K. Again
Prince Harry has lost his bid to reinstate his security on visits to the U.K., a judge ruled today—which marks the end of the Duke of Sussex’s legal challenge to a 2020 decision by the U.K. government that denied Harry, wife Meghan Markle, and kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet automatic taxpayer-funded security while in Harry’s home country after Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as working members of the royal family five years ago.
The 21-page decision came down on May 2 in a no doubt devastating blow to Harry; as he previously told People about this court case, “This one has always mattered the most.” Harry was in the U.K. just last month for an appeal on the original ruling, and that decision was made public Friday.
Though Harry will occasionally travel to the U.K. for engagements (and sometimes for court cases), the Duke of Sussex has previously expressed that, without security, he does not feel comfortable bringing Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet to his home country for fears of their safety.
Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos dismissed Harry’s appeal, adding that two other judges agreed with his opinion, per People. As he delivered the verdict, Vos said, “The Duke was, in effect, stepping in and out of the cohort of protection provided by RAVEC (the Royal and VIP Executive Committee).
Outside the U.K., he was outside the cohort, but when in the U.K., his security would be considered as appropriate depending on the circumstances. It was impossible, I said in my judgment, to say that this reasoning was illogical or inappropriate. Indeed, it seemed sensible.”
As Harry left court April 9 after fighting for the appeal, he told People he was “exhausted and overwhelmed.” Harry has, per his legal team, described his fight for his and his family’s security as a fight for his life, and this ruling will likely mean that Harry’s visits to the U.K. will continue to be limited, and that Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet’s visits will likely be nonexistent.
After the appeal hearing on April 8 and 9, Harry said that his “worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case—and that’s really sad.”
Harry has long argued that RAVEC failed to assess the risks that Harry and his family uniquely face, and RAVEC’s case-by-case arrangement was something Harry’s team has called “inadequate, inappropriate, and ineffective.”
In December 2023, Harry told the High Court that “the U.K. is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the U.S. That cannot happen if it's not possible to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil.”
