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

LONDON — A London judge on Tuesday ruled against Prince Harry for trying to pay for police protection when he visits Britain.

A High Court judge has rejected the Duke of Sussex’s claim that the British government overstepped its authority by denying him the right to hire police to keep the UK safe.

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

Harry said he did not feel safe visiting Britain with his young children and cited aggressive press photographers.

The matter was discussed last week, on the same day Harry and Meghan sought cover from paparazzi at a New York police station after a spokesman said they were involved in a “near-disastrous car chase” with photographers after a gala night.

No one was injured or reported, but police said the photographers made it difficult for the couple to get to where they were going.

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

He is due to testify next month in a trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, which claims it illegally collected material for dozens of articles about the prince dating back to the 1990s.