Prince Harry has reportedly scored a bombshell victory in his long-running battle over his security arrangements while in the UK.
The Duke of Sussex wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood shortly after her appointment and submitted a formal request for a risk assessment to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which is overseen by the Home Office, a source close to the duke said in October. The Home Office has now reportedly ordered a threat assessment for the first time since 2020.
It comes after the duke lost an appeal in May challenging the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of Ravec that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.
The legal challenge came after Harry and the Duchess of Sussex left the UK and first moved to Canada, and then California, after announcing they wanted to step back as senior royals. The duke said the Court of Appeal decision meant it is now “impossible” for him to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, back to the UK safely.
King Charles and Queen Camilla reflect on major milestone with Christmas card
The festive season is here – and King Charles and Queen Camilla have revealed their 2025 Christmas card. The card features their 20th wedding anniversary portrait, which was taken to commemorate the royal milestone in April.
In the picture, Charles and Camilla are standing side by side, with the Queen’s arm linking the King’s, in the grounds of Villa Wolkonsky, the British ambassador’s residence in Rome, earlier this year. The photograph is framed inside the card by a dark red border, with the printed message in a matching colour on the opposite side reading: “Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year ”.
Andrew and Fergie to attend first royal event since exile
Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson are expected to step out for their first royal event since their fall from grace.
The pair dramatically had their royal titles removed and are being kicked out of their 30-bedroom Royal Lodge home, where they have lived for two decades. Andrew and Fergie were exiled from the Royal Family amid the controversy surrounding their relationship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The former Duke and Duchess of York are expected to attend the christening of their granddaughter on Friday at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace.
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William ‘to scrap royal Chritmas tradition’
Prince William is reportedly set to make a major change and ditch a long-standing and outdated Christmas tradition for the royals.
The Royal Family meet at Sandringham for their Christmas celebrations each year but among the many ceremonies of the day, one is set to change.
It is said Prince William will scrap a tradition where royals hand out “joke” £5 gifts based on their seniority in the family. The game reportedly involves the cheap presents being handed out by the King, or previously by the late Queen, from a table based on the Royal family’s hierarchy.
Full story here.
Meghan Markle calling hospitals to try and get in touch with dad
Meghan Markle has been calling round hospitals to try and get in touch with dad Thomas after discovering his leg was amputated, sources close to the Duchess say.
The Duchess of Sussex is said to have personally made phonecalls to hospitals in the Philippines in an urgent bid to establish the hospital logo seen in photographs on her father’s hospital gown. Mr Markle, 81, is reported to have had his leg amputated during emergency surgery this week.
Meghan was left with no option but to email her father on a previous attempt to establish contact following the surgery as she does not have a current phone number for her father, who she fell out with in the run-up to the Royal Wedding in 2018.
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Security stand-off
Harry’s security has long been a thorn in the King’s side. In May this year, after losing another legal challenge over his security in the UK, Harry admitted his father “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff”.
The prince gave an extraordinary interview to BBC News in Californiaafter losing his appeal. Saying that he felt “let down”, he described his court defeat as a “good old fashioned establishment stitch up” and blamed the Royal Household for influencing the decision to reduce his security.
Asked whether he had asked the King to intervene in the dispute over security, Harry said: “I never asked him to intervene – I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.” He went on to say: “Everybody knew that they were putting us at risk in 2020 and they hoped that me knowing that risk would force us to come back.
But then when you realise that didn’t work, do you not want to keep us safe? Whether you’re the government, the Royal Household, whether you’re my dad, my family – despite all of our differences, do you not want to just ensure our safety?” In response, Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
Full story here.
‘Exile Prince Harry’s security win means nothing as King Charles does not trust him’
Prince Harry has long fought for his security arrangements in the UK to be reviewed, claiming that his homeland is not ‘safe’ for his family to visit. Now it is being reported that the Home Office are taking a fresh look at his case – but what could that mean for Harry’s future within the royal family, and his hopes of a royal reunion?
Harry lost his automatic right to publicly-funded police security in the UK in February 2020, after he and his wife Meghan quit life as working royals and made a permanent move to America. Ever since that decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), Harry’s security has been decided on a “case-by-case” basis, meaning he must give advance notice of his visits so a threat assessment can be made.
A source close to the Duke confirmed in October that he had sought a risk assessment from Ravec, which operates under the Home Office’s scope. In response to the news, a Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.” The latest reports have led to speculation about Harry’s future within the royal family. He has made no secret of his desire to reconcile with King Charles, and some commentators have speculated that the security review could be a sign that Harry is rejoining the royal family.
Source: Mirror
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