LONDON — Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is on the edge of his seat today, May 2, 2025, as the Court of Appeal prepares to drop its ruling on his fierce legal battle with the British government over his security arrangements. This isn’t just another day in court for the 40-year-old royal, who’s been duking it out with the Home Office since 2020, when his publicly funded police protection was scaled back after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped away from royal duties and hightailed it to California. The stakes? Nothing less than the safety of his family when they set foot on British soil.
The case kicked off in earnest back in February 2020, when the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures—Ravec, for short—decided Harry no longer qualified for the full-time, taxpayer-funded security detail afforded to working royals. Instead, his protection would be assessed case by case, like any high-profile visitor. Harry, who’s sixth in line to the throne and a veteran of two combat tours in Afghanistan, wasn’t having it. He argued the decision left him and his family—Meghan and their kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3—vulnerable, especially given documented threats, including a chilling call from al-Qaeda in 2020 urging his assassination.
Last year, Harry took his fight to the High Court, claiming Ravec’s decision was unfair and didn’t follow its own protocols. His legal team hammered the point that the committee skipped a crucial risk assessment, treating him differently from other royals. But in February 2024, High Court Judge Peter Lane sided with the government, ruling the decision was lawful and rational. Lane’s verdict stung, but Harry didn’t back down. By June 2024, the Court of Appeal agreed to hear his challenge after his lawyers pushed for a direct appeal.
The appeal hearing unfolded over two tense days in April 2025 at the Royal Courts of Justice. Harry, notepad in hand, sat intently in the courtroom, watching his barrister, Shaheed Fatima KC, argue that he’d been “singled out” for “inferior treatment.” Fatima didn’t mince words, telling the three-judge panel—Lord Justice Bean, Lord Justice Edis, and Sir Geoffrey Vos—that Ravec’s “bespoke” security process was a sham, failing to assess the real risks Harry faced. She pointed to incidents like a 2023 paparazzi chase in New York and neo-Nazi threats to underline the danger. The Home Office’s lawyer, Sir James Eadie KC, fired back, insisting the tailored approach suited Harry’s “unique circumstances” as a non-working royal living abroad. Parts of the hearing went behind closed doors due to sensitive security details, but the public got a glimpse of the raw emotion at play. “There’s a person sitting behind me whose life is at stake,” Fatima said, gesturing to Harry.
Today, the court’s judgment is set to be delivered in a livestreamed session, a rare move for such a high-profile case. Harry’s team has been vocal about what’s on the line. They’ve argued the UK is central to his children’s heritage, but without proper protection, he can’t bring his family back safely. The duke’s lawyers have stressed he’s not asking for special favors—just for Ravec to follow its own rules. The Home Office, meanwhile, stands firm, defending Ravec’s decision as appropriate for Harry’s changed status.
The outcome remains anyone’s guess. A win for Harry could mean a overhaul of his security arrangements, potentially paving the way for more family visits to the UK. A loss, though, might cement the status quo, leaving him to rely on private security teams that lack the firepower and intel of British police. Either way, the saga has already strained his ties with the royal family, with reports suggesting his belief that King Charles could intervene—despite Buckingham Palace’s insistence the monarch has no say—has deepened the rift.
Harry’s been in the legal trenches before, winning battles against tabloid publishers, but this fight cuts deeper. It’s about more than principle; it’s about his kids’ safety, his roots, and his right to feel secure in the country he once called home. As the judges’ ruling looms, the world’s watching, and Harry’s waiting.