Royals - 'Felt forced to leave Britain': What Prince Harry's lawyer says about the move to the US
In his legal dispute over police protection in the UK, Prince Harry has described his move to the USA as by no means a free decision. He does not agree with the claim that he decided to no longer be a "working member" of the royal family, his lawyer Shaheed Fatima told London's High Court on Thursday.
Rather, he and his wife Meghan had felt compelled to their "great sadness to step down from this role and leave the country in 2020", the 39-year-old prince asserted in a statement read out by his lawyer.
"Britain is my home," the youngest son of King Charles III continued in the statement. He wants his children to feel just as comfortable there as they do in their current place of residence in the USA. However, this would not be possible "if it is not possible to protect them on British soil".
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan in the USA
Harry and his wife Meghan retired from their royal duties in April 2020 and now live in California with their two young children. As a result, they lost their taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK. The British Home Office subsequently refused to deploy police officers for his security during visits to Harry's home country, although the prince himself wanted to pay for the costs of the deployment.
The new proceedings before the High Court, which began on Tuesday, are specifically about the Home Office's decision in February 2020 to only grant Prince Harry police protection on a case-by-case basis.
Trial about personal protection for Harry's family
Lawyer James Eadie, who is representing the Home Office in the trial, had defended the limited promise of protection. The fact that Prince Harry only receives police protection under "certain conditions" and "depending on the context" is due to the "change in his status", which the Prince himself brought about with the decision to become "a member of the royal family without an official function".
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- Despite describing his move to the USA as not a free decision, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, a woman, felt compelled to leave Great Britain and retire from their royal duties in April 2020 due to a lack of adequate police protection, leading them to live in California with their two young children.
- In the ongoing trial at London's High Court, Prince Harry's lawyer Shaheed Fatima argued against the Home Office's claim that the prince voluntarily no longer wanted to be a "working member" of the royal family, stating that the move was not a choice but a necessity for the safety of his family.
- During the trial, it was revealed that the Ministry of the Interior in Great Britain only granted Prince Harry police protection on a case-by-case basis, a decision that was met with opposition from the prince himself.
- The issue of police protection for Prince Harry and his family has been a contentious one, as the prince had expressed a desire to pay for police deployment during his visits to Great Britain, but his request was denied by the Home Office.
Source: www.stern.de
