The Metropolitan Police voluntarily provided personal security to Prince Harry for his visit to London earlier this month, sources have told The Mail on Sunday.
Although the Duke lost a bitter legal battle against the Home Office in May over whether he was still entitled to taxpayer-funded police protection after stepping down as a working royal, it is understood that senior Met officers ‘acted on their own initiative’ to offer him protection while he was in the capital for the WellChild Awards.
The Duke is a patron of the charity, which supports seriously ill children and their carers.
Sources say officers contacted Harry’s representatives ahead of his arrival for the high-profile ceremony on September 8 to offer him protection for that day.
It is understood that the Met’s decision was made without the involvement of either the Home Office or the Royal Family and was instead based on the highly-publicised nature of the event and the fact that many children would be present.
But the Duke, 41, who made the trip from his home in Montecito, California, where he lives with his wife Meghan and children Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, was only given protection for the day of the event – and was said to have felt ‘abandoned’ after having to fund his own security for the remainder of his visit.
A source said: ‘The police took it upon themselves to arrange security for him on the first day of his visit to the UK.
‘That included scoping the place out, checking the building, having police protection outside and crowd control.
The Metropolitan Police voluntarily provided personal security to Prince Harry for his visit to London earlier this month (pictured), sources have told The Mail on Sunday
It is understood that senior Met officers ‘acted on their own initiative’ to offer him protection while he was in the capital for the WellChild Awards (pictured)
‘But the real reason he was given that protection is because there were children there, and the event had been trailed for a really long time, so the security risk was much higher.
‘What Harry needs is proper protection and blue lights when he’s in town. After that night he was left to fend for himself. He had to provide his own security.
‘If people knew the kind of threats he’s been getting they’d be horrified that he’s left alone in the UK.’
Harry, who stepped down as a working royal in 2020, was engaged in a long-running legal challenge against a Home Office decision to downgrade the level of security he and his family would be entitled to when in the UK.
He argued that concerns about safety had prevented him from coming back to Britain and bringing his children, and that his change in status in the Royal Family did not change the risk he faced.
But he lost his appeal in May. A committee called Ravec, which authorises security for senior royals on behalf of the Home Office, will continue to assess his security needs as an infrequent visitor to the UK on a ‘case-by-case’ basis.
A source supportive of the prince said that the protection for the awards, at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, did not go far enough.
The Duke arrived in the UK on Monday September 8 to attend the awards, before other engagements in London and Nottingham.
He also spent around 50 minutes having tea with King Charles (pictured arriving at the meeting) at Clarence House on the Wednesday – their first face-to-face meeting in 18 months
He also spent around 50 minutes having tea with King Charles at Clarence House on the Wednesday – their first face-to-face meeting in 18 months – which has raised hopes of a resolution to the deep rift at the heart of the family.
The MoS previously revealed that the King and other senior royals have been invited to Harry’s Invictus Games when it is held in Birmingham in 2027.
The source added: ‘Harry really hopes that he and his dad will be standing on stage with his wife and kids at Invictus, but he is still stuck on the security issue – they are still at a stalemate over that.
‘He’s really hoping the boss of Ravec will review his security.’
While the security for Harry’s most recent visit may have been a temporary compromise, the source said: ‘There’s still zero movement.
‘The fact Harry met with his father sadly changed nothing.’
The Met said it did not comment on security matters. Prince Harry was approached for comment.
