by Another day, another ego blow for the supercilious Sussexes.
Prince Harry has lost his legal challenge against the Home Office over its decision to deny him and his family automatic police protection whenever he is in the UK. It would take a heart of stone not to laugh, or at least give a tut and an eyeroll. “What was he thinking…?”
This ruling is not just a victory for common sense, it shows once again how out of touch Harry – who is now completely in California – is with the public mind.
It’s been almost four years since Harry and Meghan chose to leave these shores like every Joe Schmoe carries a gun. Maybe they are bitten by the personal protection bug?
During all that time, the Duke of Sussex returned to the country he loved only a handful of times … and the Duchess came only once, for the funeral of Elizabeth II. With Britain in recession and Brexit landing a 5 per cent dent in our GDP, this is no time to set aside overstretched public funds for a rainy day security detail, in case the this superannuation couple and their family jet in. .
Safe to say, Britain has other priorities at the moment. Even within Harry’s own family, there are far greater causes for concern.
This year, luck has turned against the royals. The 75-year-old King, barely 18 months into a role he has spent his life building up to, is undergoing treatment for cancer. The Princess of Wales is said to be “recovering well” from abdominal surgery which will keep her out of circulation until Easter at the earliest. The unexpected return to public life of a beaming Prince Andrew, who led the royal pack at King Constantine’s memorial service yesterday, after the Prince of Wales called away on a private matter, was certainly not on my news events bingo card this week this.
The next big royal event is likely to be a funeral: Thomas Kingston, the husband of King Charles’ cousin Lady Gabriella, who is 56th in line to the throne, was found dead on Sunday, aged 45.
So, sorry Harry and Meghan… we’re a bit busy at the moment. We don’t have the bandwidth, as they say in California. But, look on the bright side; you could always file this High Court judgment with all your other laws and use it to build up a nice sense of grievance.
Harry should have seen this ruling coming, as it has become a habit to make others pay for their lifestyle until they come to their senses.
When, in January 2020, he and his wife dropped on Instagram their bombshell decision to Megxit (yes, it’s now a noun) – initially with the hope of “carrying out a new progressive role within this institution” and share their time between them. the United States and the United Kingdom, before “stepping back” later as royals working to “get freedom” away from the Sovereign Grant sheets – they half expected that they would somehow keep the globetrotting security data. In this, and much else, they were wrong.
Their very public emergence as senior royal effectively ended their status as IPPs – International Protected Persons, a position that automatically comes with state-appointed security and diplomatic immunity. Without it, you’re on your own, rightfully so.
I think what eats at Harry is how his late mother, towards the end of her life, treated her royal protection officers, preferring instead to rely on the private security firm that hired the father of her lover at the time, Mohamed al-Fayed. With disastrous consequences.
Certainly, the loss of Harry’s data was a big blow to the couple Oprah an interview. He recalled how they left Britain to live in Mille Fleurs, the mansion by the sea on Vancouver Island, where “the greatest concern […] that security was to be removed… the world knows where we are, it’s not safe, it’s not secure – we probably have to get out of here.”
It wasn’t long before they overstayed their welcome. Thousands of Canadians signed a petition asking why the couple were not stumping up their own security costs, and asked their government to stop providing the couple with protection that is estimated to cost them a fortune every year. It was later revealed that Charles, presumably out of paternal love, paid for guards at his own personal expense.
When they set out – this time, to California – the smart Beverly Hills home of billionaire film producer Tyler Perry, from where they went house hunting for their own place in LA. As Meghan told Oprah: “We didn’t have a plan, we just wanted a house – and [Perry] He also offered his security.”
Security was central again in a “near disastrous” slow-speed chase through Manhattan traffic last May, when their private security team advised the couple to get into a taxi on 67th Street to try to evade photographers .
And remember when the two were called “eco-hypocrites” after they built a series of private jets to jet around the world? “But, security…” was one of the reasons for that. (William and his family seemed to cut little ice happily.)
If the Sussexes are so determined to improve their security, perhaps they should follow the lead of cash-strapped Southwark Council, which this week launched a crowdfunding effort to pay for a small “extra” like a bike hangar and LED street lights.
Could someone show the duke how to start a GoFundMe?
