[Source: Reuters]

Prince Harry on Friday said he was “devastated” to lose his appeal over his security in Britain after stepping down from royal duties, telling the BBC he would “struggle to forgive” the decision and could not safely bring his family to Britain.

Harry, King Charles’ younger son who has moved to the United States with his wife Meghan, had sought to overturn a decision by the Home Office, the ministry responsible for policing.

A specialist body decided in February 2020 that Harry would not automatically receive personal police protection while in Britain, which London’s High Court last year ruled was lawful.

On Friday, that decision was upheld by three Court of Appeal judges who said that, while Harry understandably felt aggrieved, that did not amount to an error of law.

He added: “My status hasn’t changed – it can’t change. I am who I am, I am part of what I am part of, I can’t escape that.”

Harry claimed that “security was used as leverage” to try and keep him and Meghan within the royal fold, but said he wanted to be reconciled with his family.

Buckingham Palace said in relation to Harry’s legal case: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Judge Geoffrey Vos said that Harry’s lawyer had made “powerful and moving arguments” about the impact of the security change, but that did not make the change unlawful.

The Home Office welcomed the decision. “The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate”, it said.

Harry, 40, attended two days of hearings in April, when his lawyer told the court that he had been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment.

Asked if he intended to appeal Friday’s ruling to the UK’s Supreme Court, Harry said: “I don’t want any battles to continue … this, at the heart of it, is a family dispute.”

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