When Prince Harry stepped back as a working royal in 2020, his automatic police security was removed, but a letter written on behalf of the late Queen has since revealed the monarch’s real feelings about her grandson’s security being stripped
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step back as full-time working royals they lost many of the trappings of the life they had known together – including the automatic police security they had previously enjoyed. Instead, Harry now receives taxpayer-funded police security on a “case by case” basis, meaning on some occasions when he returns to his home country he won’t be given it, if the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) who oversee security arrangements, don’t deem it necessary.
Prince Harry has been candid about his frustrations around the removal of his automatic security and launched a legal challenge against the Home Office to try and get it back. Earlier this year in February, the High Court ruled that RAVEC’s decision to provide “bespoke” security arrangements to the Duke of Sussex was “legally sound”, but Harry has since won the right to take his case to the Court of Appeal. While it’s well known that Harry disputes his security removal, in a separate legal case he is involved in a letter written on behalf of his grandmother the late Queen Elizabeth revealed her true feelings on the matter.
After the Sandringham Summit back in 2020, when Harry and the other senior royals hashed out what the Sussex’s future could look like if they were no longer full-time working royals, the late Queen’s private secretary Sir Edward Young wrote on her behalf to the Cabinet. He explained what had been discussed and revealed the monarch’s real opinion on the matter of security for the Sussex family.
“You will understand well that ensuring that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain safe is of paramount importance to Her Majesty and her family. Given the duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into the Royal family, his military service, the duchess’s own independent profile, and the well-documented history of targeting of the Sussex family by extremists, it is imperative that the family continues to be provided with effective security,” the letter said.
Sir Edward’s letter also noted that the Queen was well aware however that RAVEC would make their final decision on Harry and Meghan’s security independently, after making it clear how important the late monarch felt it was that they continued to receive adequate protection.
An extract of the letter – per The Metro – was handed down in a judgment from Mr. Justice Nicklin in a libel case Harry brought against Associated Newspapers Limited – the publisher of the Daily Mail – over an article the Mail on Sunday published in 2022 about his legal challenge against the Home Office over his security arrangements.
