Prince Harry has lost his appeal against a London High Court decision to strip him and his family of taxpayer-funded security in the UK.
The 39-year-old Duke of Sussex has now been ordered to pay 90% of the Home Office’s legal costs in defending the court’s original judgment.
Lord Peter Lane of the High Court ruled in February that there was no unlawfulness in depriving the Sussexes of their security in February 2020.
The court found that the deviation from policy was justified and the decision was not affected by unfairness.
This means Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle now have to pay out of pocket for their family’s safety when they visit the UK.
Mr Justice Lane said on Monday that Prince Harry should pay most of the Home Office’s legal costs, but noted that the government had committed “sanctionable breaches” during the process.
“The majority of the cases have been contested by citing new grounds that have not gone through the normal licensing process,” he said in an official order on Monday.
“The breaches resulted from a misunderstanding on the part of the defendants regarding their disclosure obligations and needed to be addressed over some time in this decision. Therefore, the award of costs to the defendants was modest but significantly reduced. It is right that you should.”
The government had argued that Harry’s claims should be rejected.
Mr Justice Lane also said the amount Mr Harry would have to pay should be reduced by 10%, meaning he would have to pay 90% of the Home Office’s total legal costs.
Harry’s lawyers initially asked the court to cut the costs by a whopping 50%.
“There is no merit to this ‘partial success’ submission…The fact that the court did not accept each of the defendants’ submissions regarding the path to take towards dismissal of the claim does not mean that the claimant has failed in its entirety.” “That doesn’t change the fact that,” Judge Lane added.
The newspaper has contacted Prince Harry’s representatives for comment.
Prince Harry and the “Suits” alum, 42, were stripped of their funded police protection on February 28 after stepping down as “working royals” and moving to the United States in 2020.
Prince Harry’s lawyers had initially sought a judicial review of the government’s rejection of his proposal to hire police officers to protect his private life, but this was initially rejected by London’s High Court in May 2023.
The Duke will return to his hometown next month for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.
Prince Harry’s rumored trip is yet to be confirmed, but it is thought that celebrations will take place at St Paul’s Cathedral.
