Prince Harry's campaign to restore his police bodyguards has been given a boost after the British Government ordered a review of protective security for public figures, saying "there is insufficient protection for those who serve." The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had their round-the-clock Metropolitan Police bodyguards removed in 2020 when they quit royal duties for a new life in America and Harry has been campaigning to get them back ever since. He lost two lawsuits at the High Court in London followed by an appeal. The British Government has now launched a major review of protective security arrangements for politicians and, reportedly, royals will be considered too.
That raises the prospect that Harry could have a new avenue to argue his case. Prince Harry said previously that the U.K. was not safe for his family unless his police bodyguards were returned but he moved to England with Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in August anyway. Beyond his fears of attacks by far-right groups, comments in his book Spare about killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan during his time serving as a co-pilot and gunner on an Apache attack helicopter could make him a target.
"While in the heat and fog of combat, I didn’t think of those twenty-five as people," he wrote. "You can’t kill people if you think of them as people. You can’t really harm people if you think of them as people.
They were chess pieces removed from the board." Anas Haqqani, a senior aide in the Afghan government, was quoted by ABC as saying: "The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return." Harry also described in his book Spare how expensive private security is. The government's review was not prompted by Harry's campaign specifically, but follows the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party who was a spokeswoman for Reform UK at the time of her death in July. The Guardian's political editor Pippa Crerar wrote on X: "This includes high-profile individuals (including royals)." U.K.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the policy on Monday in a statement to the House of Commons. "It is clear there is insufficient protection for those who serve," she said. "I can therefore announce today that I will expand, with immediate effect, police support to political figures who are not currently Members of Parliament.
"This will include former Members of Parliament, peers and party spokespeople, giving them access to a named police officer, as well as help with wider security measures." Harry currently has a similar level of support, having been given a number his team can call to consult with the police on security matters. "But we must go further," Mahmood said. "So today, I also announce an independent, root-and-branch review of the protective security provided by the state to those in public life." Mahmood indicated there would potentially be more funding available to meet the needs of those considered most at risk.
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