Prince Harry’s effort to pay for British police protection fails in court

LONDON (AP) — A London judge ruled Tuesday against Prince Harry in his efforts to pay for police protection when he visits Britain.

A High Court judge rejected the Duke of Sussex’s assertion that the British government exceeded its authority when it denied him the right to hire police to provide security in the U.K.

The British government stopped providing security after Harry and his wife, Meghan, quit their royal duties and moved to California in 2020. A lawyer for the government argued in court that it should allow hiring of “police officers as private bodyguards for the wealthy.”

Harry has said he doesn’t feel safe visiting Britain with his young children, and has cited aggressive press photographers.

The case was argued last week on the same day Harry and Meghan sought cover from paparazzi in a New York police station after a spokesperson said they had been involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” with photographers after a gala event.

No one was injured and no citations given, but police said photographers made it challenging for the couple to get where they were going.

Harry is separately challenging the decision to deny him government-paid security. That lawsuit is the only one of five active legal cases he has in London courts that is not against British tabloid publishers over allegations of libel or phone hacking.

He is due to testify next month in an ongoing trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror over allegations it used illegal means to gather material for dozens of articles about the duke, dating back as far as the 1990s.

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By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press