Prince Harry files second 'insulting' lawsuit over police protection in UK

Prince Harry's wish to be able to pay for his own security detail during visits to the U.K. has prompted him to file a second lawsuit with London's High Court. This time, he has added the Metropolitan Police as a defendant.

The Duke of Sussex reportedly filed the second suit following this year's ruling by the Royalty and VIP Executive Committee that private individuals should not be allowed to pay the police to protect them. The 37-year-old won in his first legal suit against the Home Office. This means he can now take his case up for judicial review.

In the second filing, he now included the MET Police as a defendant along with the Home Office. An official from the Judicial Office told the Mirror, "It is at an early stage, no hearings have been listed yet and no decisions have been made."

Prince Harry argued that he should be allowed to use his own money to pay for his and his family's police protection while in the U.K. He and his legal team explained that his US-based security detail does not have sufficient jurisdiction in Britain.

However, the Duke of Sussex's second filing did not sit well with Dai Davies, the former head of royalty protection at Scotland Yard. He called the royal's decision "insulting" and considered it to be a "personal" matter that he should have settled privately with his family.

"For a man who allegedly wants to protect his privacy he goes about a funny way of achieving it. I believe this is personal," Davies told the publication adding, "Rather than seek a workable solution, he has taken this route which is fraught with issues. It's insulting."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lost their tax-payer-funded security protection in the U.K. when they left their royal duties in 2020. They were recently in the country in June to attend the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. It is said that Queen Elizabeth II had a security team and a car pick them up from the airport. They were granted police protection because they were with senior royals. But the duke's case pertains to his and his family's protection when they visit in a personal capacity.