The Duke of Sussex was dramatically escorted out of the courtroom by his bodyguards as a supporter disrupted proceedings on the second day of his security challenge.
As the room at the Royal Courts of Justice in London was cleared early for the private part of the hearing, a member of the public shouted her support for Prince Harry, adding: “If you’re members of the press, you’re the reason he’s no longer in England.”
According to The Daily Mail, Harry was hurried out of the courtroom by his two bodyguards, while the woman was led out of the building separately by court security.
Photo: © Getty Images
Only after she had been escorted from the court did the Duke return to the room for the rest of the hearing.
Harry, wearing a navy suit and a striped tie, arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London shortly before 10.10am on Wednesday.
The Duke did not answer questions from reporters, only giving a small wave upon arrival.
He is challenging the dismissal of his High Court legal action against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.
Last year, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled that Ravec’s decision, taken in early 2020 after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit as senior working royals, was not irrational or procedurally unfair.
In written submissions read out by his barrister on the first day of the hearing on Tuesday, the court was told that Harry and Meghan “felt forced to step back” as senior working royals in 2020.
Shaheed Fatima KC, for the Duke, said: “On 8 January 2020, (the Duke) and his wife felt forced to step back from the role of full time official working members of the royal family as they considered they were not being protected by the institution, but they wished to continue their duties in support of the late Queen as privately funded members of the royal family.”
‘Singled Out’
During Tuesday’s hearing, the Duke’s barrister said that Ravec came up with a “different and so-called ‘bespoke process'” for Harry.
She continued: “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 told judges that the bespoke process involves Ravec considering why Harry would attend a particular event “even though that is plainly irrelevant to the question of security”.
Photo: © Getty Images
“Unique Set Of Circumstances”
Parts of Wednesday’s hearing were heard in private, without members of the press or public, though the Duke was allowed to remain.
During the public part of the hearing, Sir James Eadie KC, for the Home Office, said that Ravec was faced with a “unique set of circumstances”.
He told 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.”
The barrister later said that the committee does not proceed “by way of comparison” between people under its remit.
Sir James said: “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 added: “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.”
When Will A Decision Be Made?
The hearing before Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean, and Lord Justice Edis is due to conclude on Wednesday with a decision expected in writing at a later date.
No Family Reunion
Apparently, the Duke and the King did not meet, despite both being in London on the same day.
Charles was seen touching down in his helicopter in London on Sunday ahead of his state visit to Italy, arriving at Kensington Palace at 10:30am.
Meanwhile, Harry touched down in the capital at around 3pm on Sunday, two days before appearing at the High Court for the first day of the hearing.
We understand that the King headed to London on Sunday for scheduled cancer treatment, therefore it was “not possible” for Harry and the monarch to reunite.
