The US State Department has confirmed that 18 documents relating to Prince Harry are being withheld as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case. The Duke of Sussex's visa documents have been under review following a FOIA request related to his visa and previous drug use, according to court documents.
State Department Withholds Initial Batch
In a recent update, it has been confirmed that 18 documents relating to Harry are being withheld. This follows reports that US Government officials have spent months processing material and results from searches of State Department computer systems.
Newsweek reported that at the end of July, a decision was made to withhold an initial batch of 18 documents. The department is also reviewing 307 documents totalling 2,487 pages, none of which is expected to be publicly released at this time.
Court Documents Reveal Details
A joint status report, filed at the district court in D.C. and seen by Newsweek, read: "This case stems from a Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") request that Plaintiffs submitted to the Department for records regarding Henry Charles Albert David, also known as 'the Duke of Sussex' or 'Prince Harry.' The State Department made its first interim production in this case on July 30, 2026, in which it identified 18 responsive records, all withheld in their entirety."
This update follows an initial attempt by the right-wing think tank, the Heritage Foundation, to sue the Department of Homeland Security and have Harry's visa records disclosed. The foundation argued that the American public had a right to know if he was honest about his past drug use on his visa application.
Background and Legal Proceedings
The case stems from Harry's confession to drug use in his younger years in his memoir, Spare. The Heritage Foundation lost the initial case when Judge Carl Nichols ruled that Harry's privacy interests outweighed any public interest in disclosure. The foundation's lawyers then launched a new case in 2025 against the State Department, requesting all other documents about Harry, excluding the visa papers themselves.
The think tank is keen to discover whether Harry lied about his past drug use on his visa forms, and whether he should have even been permitted to enter the US with this history, something many individuals are banned from the US for.
Harry's visa documents are unlikely ever to be fully released due to privacy concerns, which the court has consistently determined outweigh the public interest in this case. Prince Harry's spokesperson has been contacted for comment. Sources close to the duke have always maintained he was truthful on his visa application to the US, where he has resided for six years.
