(CNN) — Prince Harry has lost a court challenge against the UK government's decision to scrap taxpayer-funded security after stepping down from royal duties.
In February 2020, Harry took legal action against the Home Office after deciding he could not receive the “same level” of protection while in the country.
During the hearing in December, Harry's lawyers argued that the decision meant he was “isolated” and treated “less favourably”, British news agency PA Media reported.
His lawyers also cited a failure to consider the impact on the UK's reputation of a “successful attack” against Harry, who has lived in California with his wife Meghan since July 2020.
But the court ruled that the decision was fair and “not vitiated by procedural unfairness”.
The Duke of Sussex has been vocal about his family's safety, often comparing the treatment his wife received to that faced by his mother, Diana. The late Princess of Wales died of internal injuries as a result of a high-speed car crash in Paris in 1997.
The case is one of many tests Prince Harry has taken in the United Kingdom. In January, he dropped a defamation suit against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
Prince Harry sued ANL for defamation over an article published in February 2022 about the Duke's High Court case against the UK Home Office over security measures when he and his family travel to the country.
Prince Harry will appeal the High Court ruling
Prince Harry's legal spokesman told CNN's Max Foster: “The Duke of Sussex will appeal today's ruling rejecting his judicial review request against the decision-making body of the executive committee for the protection of royals and dignitaries (RAVEC), which includes the Home Office, the Royal Household and the Metropolitan Police, or Met.
Although these are not labels used by RAVEC, there are three categories – as revealed during the case – of the “RAVEC collective”: share-based category, ordinary category and VIP category.
Duke is not asking for preferential treatment, but for the fair and lawful application of RAVEC's own rules, ensuring that he is treated in the same way as others in accordance with RAVEC's own written policy.
In February 2020, RAVEC did not apply its written policy to the Duke of Sussex and excluded him from a specific risk analysis. Duke's case is that the “designed process” applied to him does not change that risk analysis.
Prince Harry is confident the Court of Appeal will give him justice and will “not comment further while the case continues.”
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