Prince Harry's lawyer says his life is at stake

10/4/2025 6:16

Prince Harry's lawyer warned

his "life is at stake" over changes to his security after he

stepped down from royal duties, as the prince returned to

London's Royal Courts of Justice on Wednesday for his appeal

about changes to his protection in Britain.



Harry, King Charles' younger son, is trying to overturn a

decision by the Home Office – the ministry responsible for

policing – which decided in 2020 he would not automatically

receive personal police security while in Britain.



"One must not forget the human dimension to this case: there

is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security and

whose life is at stake," his lawyer Shaheed Fatima told the

court as Harry watched on.



She had said in court filings made public on Tuesday that al

Qaeda had recently called for Harry to be murdered and that he

and his wife Meghan had been involved in "a dangerous car

pursuit with paparazzi in New York City" in 2023.



Prince Harry stepped back from his royal duties in 2020

and now lives in California with his American wife Meghan and

their two children.



His challenge was rejected last year, with the High Court

ruling the decision was lawful, but he was granted permission to

appeal.



Harry, 40, regularly conferred with his legal team on the

final day of the two-day hearing, at times shaking his head, as

the government's lawyers argued that it was the right decision

to adopt a "bespoke" approach to his security.



"The basis for the decision-making and the bespoke approach

being adopted was that it had positive advantages from a

security assessment point of view," James Eadie, representing

the Home Office, said.



After part of Wednesday's hearing concerning specific

security arrangements was heard in private, Fatima said the case

was incredibly important to him.



"His presence here and throughout this appeal is a potent

illustration, were one needed, of how much this appeal means to

him and his family," she said.



While Harry had been told he was getting "a special

bespoke process ... he knows and has experienced a process that

is manifestly inferior in every respect", Fatima added.