Prince Harry loses legal bid to regain special police protection in U.K., even at his own expense

London — Prince Harry has lost a bid to bring a legal challenge against the U.K. government over its refusal to allow him to pay privately for personal police protection for himself and his family when the estranged royals visit Britain.

Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, gave up their roles as senior "working" members of the royal family in 2020, soon after which they settled in California. That year, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), made up of officials from the government, London's Metropolitan Police Service and the royal household, decided the Sussexes no longer qualified for special police protection in the U.K.

Harry had argued through his lawyers at Britain's High Court that a formal judicial review process should assess the government's decision to refuse his offer to have the personal protection order restored at his expense.