Prince Harry has confirmed he won’t be attending a memorial service for his grandfather Prince Philip later this month.
The high-profile memorial service will take place at Westminster Abbey on March 29, and a host of Royal family members will be in attendance.
Despite hopes Harry would reunite with his family for the service, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex has said: “The Duke will not be returning to the UK in late March, but hopes to visit his grandmother as soon as possible.”
The spokesperson didn’t give a reason for his absence, but Prince Harry is currently fighting to have his police protection reinstated in the UK.
The Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan Markle lost their taxpayer-funded police protection after they stepped down as senior working members of the Royal family in 2020.
Because of this, the 37-year-old has been unable to return home from the US with Meghan and their two children, Lilibet and Archie.
In September 2021, Harry applied for a judicial review of a Home Office decision not to allow him personally pay for police protection for himself and his family when they are in the UK.
Speaking at a preliminary hearing at the High Court in London last month, the Duke’s attorney Shaheed Fatima expressed Harry’s desire to return home to visit family and friends.
According to The Guardian, Fatima said: “This claim is about the fact that the claimant does not feel safe when he is in the U.K. given the security arrangements that were applied to him in June 2021 and will continue to be applied to him if he decides to come back.”
“And, of course, it should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart. Most of all, this is, and always will be, his home.”
Prince Harry’s bid to reinstate his police protection hit headlines in January.
At the time, the father-of-two’s legal team released a statement explaining why he sought a judicial review in September 2021.
They said: “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.”
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the UK.”
“In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home.”
The statement continued: “The duke first offered to pay personally for UK police protection for himself and his family in January of 2020 at Sandringham. That offer was dismissed. He remains willing to cover the cost of security, as not to impose on the British taxpayer.”
“As is widely known, others who have left public office and have an inherent threat risk receive police protection at no cost to them. The goal for Prince Harry has been simple – to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the UK so his children can know his home country.”
“During his last visit to the UK in July 2021 – to unveil a statue in honour of his late mother – his security was compromised due to the absence of police protection, whilst leaving a charity event.”
“After another attempt at negotiations was also rejected, he sought a judicial review in September 2021 to challenge the decision-making behind the security procedures, in the hopes that this could be re-evaluated for the obvious and necessary protection required.”
“The UK will always be Prince Harry’s home and a country he wants his wife and children to be safe in. With the lack of police protection, comes too great a personal risk.”
“Prince Harry hopes that his petition – after close to two years of pleas for security in the UK – will resolve this situation. It is due to a leak in a UK tabloid, with surreptitious timing, we feel it necessary to release a statement setting the facts straight,” the statement concluded.
