Queen Elizabeth II wanted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to continue to have “effective security” after they quit as working royals, court documents have revealed.
An extract from a letter written by the late Queen’s private secretary, Sir Edward Young, to then-cabinet secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, on January 31, 2020, reported on what had been agreed at the family’s Sandringham summit on January 13. The details emerged in a legal judgment given in the Duke of Sussex’s High Court libel case against Associated Newspapers Limited on Friday (December 8).
The extract outlined the expectations the Duke and Duchess would have when attending engagements in Britain and the position of his grandmother on these as well as other issues. Focusing on security, Sir Edward wrote: “You will understand well that ensuring the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain safe is of paramount importance to Her Majesty and her family.
“Given the Duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into the Royal Family, his military service, the Duchess’s own independent profile and the well-documented history of targeting of the Sussex family by extremists, it is imperative the family continues to be provided with effective security.”
In an apparent nod to the death of Harry’s mother Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris in 1997, he added: “And, of course, the family is mindful of tragic incidents of the past.”
The court judgment stated the letter did not refer to an offer “personally to reimburse, or proactively to finance, the cost of state security so as not to burden the taxpayer”, which the Duke claims he made during the Sandringham summit.
Sir Edward’s letter also goes on to make clear the late Queen and the Royal Family recognised the process for making decisions about publicly-funded security were “independent” and “are for the UK Government, the Government of Canada and any other host Government…”
News of the late Queen’s wishes contrasts with the narrative Harry and Meghan have maintained that they were cut adrift by the Royal Family.
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry insisted he was “desperate” to keep his security, begging his family, including the late Queen, to continue armed police protection. He wrote that he told them: “Look. Please. Meg and I don’t care about perks, we care about working, serving – and staying alive”. The prince also stated he faced “total abandonment”.
And in a written witness statement prepared for his legal challenge against the Home Office over a change to his security arrangements when visiting Britain, Harry said he and his wife had been “forced” to leave the country in 2020.
At a hearing in London on Thursday (December 7) over his security arrangements, the Duke’s barrister, Shaheed Fatima KC, said Harry did not accept that it was a “choice” for him to have stopped being a “full-time working member of the Royal Family”.
The lawyer read an excerpt from the Duke’s statement in which he said: “It was with great sadness for both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020. The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US. That cannot happen if it’s not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil.
“I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.”
However, in January 2020 the Sussexes said they “chose” to leave rather than that they were “forced” to. A statement issued at the time said: “After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.”
It explained that the Sussexes intended to step back as senior members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support the late Queen.
Harry now faces a wait for a judge’s ruling on his legal action against the Home Office after a two-and-half-day hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice concluded on Thursday. The Duke’s lawyers are challenging the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) to change the degree of his publicly funded security, arguing it was “unlawful and unfair”.
Most of the proceedings were held in private, without the public or press present, due to confidential evidence over security measures being involved in the case. A judgement in relation to that case is due at a later date. Harry’s security case is one of five High Court claims the Duke is involved in, including extensive litigation against newspaper publishers.
