Prince Harry claims his police protection was taken away to ‘trap’ him and Meghan Markle in the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex’s ‘worst fears have been confirmed’ by secret evidence heard in a new court case, The Telegraph reported.
The Duke expressed his dismay at being informed in 2020 that their security was being withdrawn, a situation he found ‘difficult to swallow’. Such a decision is believed to be a significant factor in the tensions between him and King Charles.
Harry conveyed his pain regarding the treatment he and Meghan have faced within the Royal Family, hinting at the challenges in bridging the divide created by these actions.
Following the announcement of their relocation to the US and reduced involvement in royal duties, Prince Harry was taken aback by the removal of his taxpayer-funded police protection, adding to the complexities of their situation.
Harry was in the UK to attend a two-day appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in which he challenged the removal of his security when in the UK.
Speaking outside the court, he said: ‘We were trying to create this happy house.’
The Duke and Duchess reportedly believed that establishing a happy life of their own would help thaw relations with the Royal Family.
The Duke of Sussex outside the High Court today as he challenged the decision to remove police protection for himself and Meghan when in the UK
Harry and Meghan reportedly believe that their police protection when in the UK was withdrawn as a way of trying to ‘trap’ them in the Royal Family
The Duke of Sussex has been at the Royal Courts of Justice for the start of his appeal against a High Court ruling on his legal claim against the Home Office
The couple saw the removal of their police protection as a way of trying to strongarm them into returning to the UK – since they felt that without security, visiting Britain would paint a target on their back.
Harry took the decision to take legal action against the Government to have his official security reinstated.
The Duke said that the case was even more significant than his legal battles against the tabloid press that he once called his ‘life’s work’.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Harry said what he had experienced during the legal process had crossed a line – and suggested he was upset with elements of the evidence that had been heard beyond closed doors this week in court.
The Prince said: ‘People would be shocked by what’s being held back.’ He added that his ‘worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case and that’s really sad’.
As legal proceedings came to a close, Harry said he was ‘exhausted’ and ‘overwhelmed’ by the legal case.
Even if Harry wins the appeal, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) may not be compelled to grant the Sussexes their wish to restore their security.
The Duke said he was ‘driven by exposing injustice’ and would continue to fight regardless of the outcome.
Prince Harry talks with a person wounded in the war with Russia at the Superhumans Center in Lviv on Thursday during a visit to Ukraine
The aftermath of a Russian missile attack on Lviv in September last year, where seven died including three children
Harry has been accused of hypocrisy after he met dozens of wounded soldiers in Ukraine earlier this week despite claiming he and his family cannot be safe in Britain without taxpayer-funded police bodyguards.
However, an insider told MailOnline that it is ‘simply incorrect’ to suggest the Ukraine trip contradicts Harry’s UK safety concerns or undermines his High Court case, claiming the team protecting him was ‘more robust’ than in Britain.
But a source close to Harry has claimed that the level of protection on his Ukrainian trip was better than what he receives in the UK.
‘He can go to Ukraine – a country with an active warzone – because he has a robust security detail, one that he does not have in his home country’, they said.
MailOnline reported earlier this week that Prince Harry did not see his father the King after flying into the UK for the legal hearing.
The Duke of Sussex landed from Los Angeles last Sunday but his father spent the weekend at Highgrove, his private Gloucestershire home, resting ahead of this week’s busy State Visit to Italy.
