Prince Harry has claimed that his wife, Meghan Markle, was not initially granted security as a member of the royal family until he intervened.
This comes after an emotional interview with the BBC was released of the Duke of Sussex in which he revealed his hopes to “reconcile” with the Royal Family after losing the legal challenge over his UK security.
He stated that he has been left “devastated” after losing the case and shared that his father King Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”
Now, in a lengthy statement shared on sussex.com, Prince Harry described his legal appeal as a “last resort” and called the Royal Household a “key decision maker” in RAVEC (the UK government’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee).
Harry alleged that RAVEC did not want to protect Meghan until he stepped in, as “they concluded that when my wife would join the royal family, she should not receive protection.”
“Only when I asked for the name of the person willing to carry that risk did they reverse the decision,” wrote Prince Harry.
Harry spoke with BBC News in California after losing an appeal over the levels of security he and his family are entitled to while in the UK.
“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” he said reflecting on the defeat.
The Prince had wanted to outrun major changes to his security that were introduced in 2020 when he stepped down as a working royal.
Sharing that he felt “let down”, he described his court ruling as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up.”
On whether he had asked the King to intervene in the case, Prince Harry said: “I never asked him to intervene – I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.”
The prince said his treatment during the trial had “uncovered my worst fears”.
“I’m devastated – not so much as devastated with the loss that I am about the people behind the decision, feeling as though this is okay. Is it a win for them?”
He continued: “I’m sure there are some people out there, probably most likely the people that wish me harm, who consider this a huge win.”
“Everybody knew that they were putting us at risk in 2020 and they hoped that me knowing that risk would force us to come back. But then when you realise that didn’t work, do you not want to keep us safe?”
“Whether you’re the government, the Royal Household, whether you’re my dad, my family – despite all of our differences, do you not want to just ensure our safety?”
When asked if he missed the UK, he revealed: “I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done… and I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
“I wish someone had told me that beforehand,” he said, adding that the ruling had been a “surprise.”
Buckingham Palace went on to issue a statement in response to Prince Harry’s stark interview, which said that the court had “repeatedly and meticulously” examined issues with the security arrangements.
“All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion,” they added.
