Prince Harry was swiftly escorted out of court during a hearing on his security arrangements after an unexpected outburst from a supporter. The Duke of Sussex attended the Court of Appeal today to contest the rejection of his High Court claim against the Home Office regarding the decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should have a different level of taxpayer-funded protection while in the UK.
Today's hearing included private sessions, closed off to press and public. As the courtroom was being cleared for one such session this afternoon, a member of the public expressed her support for Prince Harry, exclaiming: "I support you Prince Harry".
Harry's security team immediately stepped in, shielding him from the woman as they quickly ushered him out of the courtroom, while she continued: "If you're members of the press, you're the reason he's no longer in England."
Following the woman's departure, it is reported that Harry returned to attend the private segment of the hearing.
Earlier, the Duke had arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London for the second day of the proceedings. Residing in the United States, Harry was observed jotting down notes on light blue sticky notes and conversing quietly with his legal representatives during parts of the hearing, reports the Mirror.
The two-day appeal follows Sir Peter Lane's decision last year that Ravec's action was legitimate after Harry and Meghan stepped back from Royal duties in early 2020. Shaheed Fatima KC, representing the duke, argued at the appeal that Ravec developed a "different and so-called bespoke process" for Harry.
She insisted: "The appellant does not accept that 'bespoke' means 'better'. In fact, in his submission, it means that he has been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment."
Ms Fatima expressed to the judges that this unique process entails Ravec evaluating Harry's reasons for attending events, which she stressed is irrelevant when talking about security concerns.
In today's session of the hearing that was open to the public, Sir James Eadie KC, speaking on behalf of the Home Office, highlighted the "unique set of circumstances" faced by Ravec concerning the duke. He declared to the court: "There is no proper basis for challenging the decision that the bespoke assessment was appropriate...What mattered was the question of substance of how they were going to deal with this unique set of circumstances."
Sir James further mentioned that the committee doesn't compare individuals under its consideration, explaining: "That is for the obvious reason that it is highly unlikely that two cases will ever in truth be the same, when judged against the broad guiding principles that apply."
He stated: "It needs to acknowledged squarely that is extremely difficult and perhaps not very profitable to seek to compare cases, other than through the broad guiding principles, as apply across a range of similar cases."
The case, which has been heard by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean, and Lord Justice Edis, is set to wrap up later today, with a written decision expected at a later date.
Prince Harry has made a surprise appearance at court for the hearing, having travelled secretly from California to the UK over the weekend. Shunning any inquiries regarding King Charles on his way in yesterday, there are murmurs that despite both being in the country for several hours on Sunday, the father and son did not meet.
The last time Harry is believed to have seen his father was over a year ago when he urgently flew back to the UK from the States after news surfaced that the King had been diagnosed with cancer. In May last year, Prince Harry visited the UK for another reason - his Invictus Games - yet didn't meet the King, citing that he hoped to see him "soon" due to Charles's "full programme" at the time.
The bond between Harry and Charles has notably been under tension since the Duke stepped back from Royal duties and relocated to the US with his wife Meghan and their children.
It has also been previously reported that the matter of Harry's security has added to the already tense relationship between the Duke and his family. Friends of Harry have claimed that his calls to his father about this issue have gone "unanswered".
However, sources close to the King have stated that it would be "wholly inappropriate" for him to step in.
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