Royal bodyguard blasts Prince Harry for 'unwise' decision to sue over police protection

Princess Diana's former bodyguard expressed his disappointment at how Prince Harry is trying to secure police protection for his visits to the U.K.

The Duke of Sussex wants to be able to feel safe when he and his family visit the country. But he fears for their safety without the proper security, and explained that his U.S. security detail does not have full jurisdiction over British intelligence.

As such, he wants to be able to use his own money to pay for police protection in the U.K. But this is something that the Metropolitan Police and the Home Office are against.

The 37-year-old then decided to take the case to the Judicial Court and a hearing has yet to take place. But his decision to file a suit has attracted criticism including from Ken Wharfe, who once served as Princess Diana's bodyguard. He also guarded Prince Harry and Prince William.

He discussed the case during an interview on Mirror's "Pod Save The Queen" podcast. He said the Duke of Sussex is only courting "negative publicity" with his legal action against the government. He shared his confusion as to why the former working royal insisted "that he had this full package," because "in essence, he wasn't really entitled to it being a non-working member of the British Royal Family."

Wharfe explained that "rather than make a noise about how he wants the full package, the British Government and the Metropolitan Police would, of course, provide some sort of liaison to work with his own security, albeit private because that would be necessary."

He argued that it would have been "wrong" in the first place for the MET Police to let Prince Harry, "a global icon and celebrity in his own right, step onshore in the United Kingdom without any protection whatsoever."

Wharfe believes that it "was never the case that the government and the police wouldn't have provided a liaison to guarantee his safety and that of his wife and children." He thought that it was "unwise" for Prince Harry to take legal action over his U.K. police protection and advised that the duke will "have to work a little bit harder and understand that the government and the police are here to help him and they will do so."