prince harry© Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry admits to 'significant tensions' with the Queen's private secretary

The dad-of-two has resorted to legal action

Content Writer
July 7, 2022

Prince Harry has detailed his personal clash with the Queen's private secretary – Sir Edward Young – after a committee decision stripped the Duke from receiving state security.

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The Queen's grandson has argued that the committee's decision on his security was not independent owing to crucial involvement from members of the Royal Household. In a potentially bitter embroilment, Prince Harry has brought about a claim against the Home Office over his police protection in the UK.

WATCH: Prince Harry discusses his and Meghan Markle's visit with the Queen

The Duke's barrister, Shaheed Fatima QC, told the court: "He didn’t know at that stage that the Royal Household was involved at all … he was told it was an independent decision."

She went on to reference 'significant tensions' between Harry and the Queen's private secretary, Sir Edward Young.

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READ: Meghan Markle's rare insight into Archie and Lilibet's sibling bond

Upset by the outcome, Prince Harry has argued that he should have been kept in the loop with regards to the decision-making process, including whether it was 'appropriate' for members of the royal household to have been involved.

prince harry meghan markle© Photo: Getty Images

Prince Harry regards the UK as his home

In a bid to overturn the decision, Harry's lawyers will ask Mr Justice Swift to grant permission for a full judicial review of the Home Office's decision at a hearing on Thursday. He is challenging the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) – which falls under the remit of the Home Office – over his security, after being told he would no longer be given the 'same degree' of personal protective security when visiting.

Despite stepping down from his royal duties in January 2020, the father-of-two hopes to bring his wife and children to the UK but is currently 'unable to return to his home' because it is deemed too dangerous.

© Photo: Getty Images

The duo stepped down from royal duties in 2020

Ms Fatima previously told the court that Harry considers the UK 'is and always will be his home'.

She added: "Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats.

"While his role within the institution has changed, his profile as a member of the royal family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family."

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