Prince Harry has succeeded in forcing the Home Office to open a new review into his right to taxpayer funded security.
As The Mirror revealed last month, the government department will now carry out a new Risk Management Board hearing at his request, after months of appeals from the Duke of Sussex. It is understood the new review will look at the risks and threats to both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Appeals and Correspondence
Harry has previously lost a case at the High Court and a subsequent hearing at the Court of Appeal, before he wrote directly to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood asking for a renewed assessment of his security situation.
Home Office sources say Harry has been in constant contact with the department in recent months, describing his correspondence as "incessant".
Family Relocation
The prince and his wife Meghan arrived back in the UK last month for what sources close to the couple have described as an "extended stay". They have enrolled their two children, Archie, seven and Lilibet, five at a British school and are said by friends to be settling into their new life in the country.
On August 28, The Mirror exclusively reported how the Home Office was on the verge of issuing a new review of the Sussexes' security situation due to the family relocating to the UK. One government source suggested "the goalposts have moved".
One government insider said: "Officials have been asked to make a new assessment now that the family in question have chosen to reside in the UK. Any recommendations will be made in due course."
Background of the Security Dispute
Harry, 42 on Tuesday, was stripped of his right to security while in the UK when he and Meghan in 2020 decided to quit their royal roles and set up home in the United States. Since then the duke has appealed to the British government to change its position, claiming he is still a target for terrorists and fixated persons when in the UK.
His privately funded security team compiled a report which was sent to the Home Office, claiming he is the focus of six terrorist plots, five of which originated in the UK. Harry has appealed for a new risk assessment to be carried out by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec), the body that was integral in stripping away his security detail.
The last review into the prince's security risk took place at the end of July, before the duke informed the Home Office of his plans to relocate his family back to the UK from the US. Harry is understood to have given the security committee less than two weeks' notice that he was moving his family back, amid fears the news would leak.
The duke had previously been told that he may be eligible for protection if he gave Ravec at least 28 days' notice of his plans to visit the UK. Harry's team reportedly chose to inform the committee that he would be travelling to the UK for an extended period of engagements in September - and not permanently relocating his family.
Harry later informed the Home Office of the family's intention to have an extended stay. The duke told his father - the King - officially on Sunday, August 16 - just three days before the news of the family's relocation was leaked to a number of media outlets known for favourable coverage of the Sussexes in the past. The family landed in the UK on Thursday, August 26.
Family Footage and Response
On Sunday afternoon, Meghan, 45, shared a glimpse of family life in the UK in new footage of the family posted to her personal Instagram. The 34-second clip, which features Wham!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, begins with Meghan and Harry walking along a country path as she turns and says "come on, you". UK flag and heart emojis are shown throughout the video, which also shows Archie running towards deer as Lilibet rides her bike.
Following the Mirror's exclusive story, a spokesperson for the Sussexes told The Telegraph that the committee had been "kicking the can down the road for the last seven years". They added: "We have always adhered to the rules they set, even as the goalposts have moved along the way. Playing by those rules has never made any difference. Despite the facade of a proper process, they have never shown any real intention of doing anything other than maintaining the status quo.
"Geography was the backbone of Ravec's argument for withdrawing enhanced protective security in 2020. The couple's decision not to live in the UK was treated as a significant factor in that decision. That barrier has now been removed, and an obvious off-ramp exists for the committee to do the sensible thing: protect the King's son and grandchildren."
