Prince Harry ‘received police protection’ on his last visit to see King Charles, ex-royal bodyguard says – as it is revealed royal’s security battle with Government cost taxpayer more than £500,000 and will go higher when he appeals

Prince Harry received police protection during his visit to see the King in February, a former royal protection officer believes – despite being embroiled in a row with the Home Office over the issue.

On Tuesday, it was revealed the prince’s failed legal bid against the Home Office over the removal of his automatic police protection has cost the taxpayer more than £500,000.

Last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid $2million (£1.58million) for their security arrangements.

But despite the setback, it appear the duke’s police protection in the UK has not been completely rescinded. In early February, he made a fleeting 26-hour trip to Britain to see his father after news broke that King Charles is undergoing cancer treatment.

A former royal protection officer said there were signs the prince was being given police protection during that trip.

Prince Harry arrives at Clarence House to meet the King last month, after news broke of the monarch’s cancer diagnosis

Prince Harry pictured arriving at Heathrow en route to travel back home to the US

Prince Harry arrives at the Windsor Suite at Heathrow airport on route home to LA

He said: ‘On his last visit to see his father, you can see he’s had some police protection. That was quite evident in relation to the vehicles he was travelling in.

‘Looking at the dress of the officers – they’re in shirts and ties, they look like police officers.’

Crucially, in the UK private security groups are banned from carrying weapons. Meanwhile the royal protection, typically made up of police officers with a minimum ten years’ experience, carry Glock 17 pistols.  

After his visit in February, the Duke of Sussex gave an interview to ABC News’ ‘Good Morning America’ in which he explained he left for the UK as soon as his spokesman told him about his father’s illness. The two are understood to have met for around 45 minutes.

Harry said: ‘I love my family, and the fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.’

Despite the duke’s defeat in the court, according to security consultant Simon Morgan, his arrangements are likely to remain much the same.

Mr Morgan said: ‘If you look at Harry’s current situation, he’s currently paying for his own protection team. So actually, from his perspective, very little is going to change. He’s already made that shift over to the private sector.

Prince Harry’s (pictured last March outside the High Court) failed court case against the Home Office over the removal of his automatic police protection has cost the taxpayer more than £500,000

‘There’s been various visits to the UK where he has used his private security team. In actual fact, nothing really is going to change for him, he’s going to carry on what he has been doing.’

Mr Morgan runs Mayfair-based private security company Trojan Consultancy.

Officials spent £514,128 fighting two separate judicial review claims brought by the Duke of Sussex after his security status was downgraded when he and wife Meghan ceased being working royals and moved to the US.

The legal bill could still increase, as Harry has vowed to appeal against his latest defeat when a judge last month ruled he had failed to prove the decision was unfair or unlawful.

The costs of the two claims will raise questions over a member of the Royal Family launching legal action against the Government.

The legal bill included more than £180,000 for barristers, £320,000 for the Government’s legal department, which provides legal advice, and £3,200 in court fees, according to a Freedom of Information request by the Daily Telegraph.

Officials spent £514,128 fighting two separate judicial review claims brought by the Duke of Sussex after his security status was downgraded 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf on September 16, 2023

Almost £10,000 was spent on the disclosure of electronic documents linked to the case, believed to include emails between civil servants and the Royal Household.

Harry, 39, claimed the decision by the Home Office’s Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as Ravec, was unfair and jeopardised the safety of him and his family.

His lawyers argued he was ‘singled out’ and treated less favourably than other VIPs.

The Home Office said Britain had ‘finite public resources’ and argued police protection should be limited to those ‘acting in the interest of the State through their public role’.

A High Court judge ruled the decision to revoke his round-the-clock taxpayer-funded police protection and instead review his security needs on a case-by-case basis was lawful, and dismissed his case.

Prince Harry and Meghan, pictured at an Invictus Games event in Canada on February 14, 2024

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand outside Kensington Palace after announcing their engagement in November 2017

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend an event in Whistler near Vancouver in the build up to the 2025 Invictus Games 

William, Harry, Meghan and Charles speak together at a service at Westminster Abbey in March 2019 – the year before the Sussexes stepped down as senior royals and moved to the US

The ruling left Harry with an estimated £1million legal bill. He was previously barred from bringing a separate claim over his request to pay for his own protection.

He is pursuing separate legal cases against News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, and Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail.

In January, he abandoned a libel claim against the Mail’s sister paper The Mail on Sunday over an article about his security, leaving him facing an estimated £750,000 legal bill.

Weeks later he accepted ‘substantial’ damages to end a four-year legal case against Mirror Group Newspapers over phone hacking.