Prince Harry ‘tried to circumvent Royal Household and lobbied No10 adviser over security concerns’

Prince Harry ‘tried to circumvent the Royal household by attempting to lobby a No10 adviser over his security concerns’, according to legal papers.

The Duke of Sussex made an offer to fund his own security at the ‘Sandringham Summit’ in January 2020 but was under the impression his worries were ‘not given proper consideration’.

His late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary Sir Edward Young reportedly promised to get back to his queries – as did Sir Michael Stevens, keeper of the privy purse.

But Harry became increasingly impatient at the lack of response, so much so that he ‘complained’, legal papers claim.

The Telegraph reports that the Prince was not aware that Sir Edward was part of the organisation which decide who gets police protection, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec).

Harry took it upon himself to request a meeting with then cabinet secretary and national security adviser to Boris Johnson, Sir Mark Sedwill.

Harry took it upon himself to request a meeting with then cabinet secretary and national security adviser to Boris Johnson, Sir Mark Sedwill (pictured)

He reiterated his concerns to Mr Sedwill just one week later.

The Duke’s barrister, Justin Rushbrook KC, revealed that although Harry had ‘believed and hoped’ that Ravec would be informed of is offer to pay for his security, ‘it became increasingly clear to him that his concerns, in particular as regards his and his family’s security, were not being given proper consideration’.

After his official role ended and he became ‘a privately funded member of the Royal Family with permission to earn his own income and pursue his own charitable interests’, Ravec withdrew guaranteed police support.

Ravec chairman Sir Richard said in a letter to the Queen’s private secretary that while the committee would ‘continue to monitor the security of the Sussex family’, the ‘existing provision by the Metropolitan Police will be withdrawn… there is no basis for publicly funded security support’.

Tensions remain over Prince Harry’s legal battle with the Home Office over its refusal to provide a heavy police protection to the Sussexes – despite them offering to pay for it

Harry said he only discovered the extent of the change when he made one of his rare visits to England in June 2021, and was unhappy with arrangements made. 

Mr Rushbrook said that the security from the Met was taken away ‘at very short notice’.

He claimed that the decision was against Harry’s wishes who was just beginning a ‘transitional year’ of the Sussexes new lives.

The legal papers show that the Sussexes were not expecting to pay for their own security so quickly, but rather thought it would be ‘in due course’.

Prince Harry has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with the UK Home Office after it previously refused to provide police protection for the couple to return to the country after they stepped back from royal duties and moved to California.

The Duke has been taking legal action against the department after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US.

He was successful in gaining a judicial review after it was found that he was not given a ‘clear and full explanation’ behind the sudden decision.

The couple were forced to pay for their own security staff at a One Young World event in Manchester last month 

But he is also arguing that his offer to pay his own protection should have made the Home Office ‘quash and retake’ its decision. This application for judicial review is still pending.

The Duke admits that he failed to make his offer directly to Ravec before he launched legal action against the Home Office last September.

He believes it to be ‘irrelevant’ as his views were made clear through the Royal household at the Sandringham summit.

The couple were forced to pay for their own security staff at a One Young World event in Manchester last month. 

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the couple’s security is being ‘privately secured’. 

After their Manchester trip, police in Düsseldorf told the pair they must pay for their own security service, and officers will only provide small-scale protective measures, mostly for crowd control purposes. 

And last month a bodyguard pictured with Prince Harry and Meghan is a former Met Police officer convicted of strangling his wife leaving her ‘seconds away from death’, MailOnline revealed.

Pere Daobry, 51, was pictured driving the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a Range Rover on September 5 as they left Frogmore cottage on their way to London’s Euston station.

Despite his important role protecting the high-profile couple Daobry was convicted at Colchester Magistrates Court in September 2016 of attacking his wife, Sarah Jay, a former Essex Police sergeant, after she declared that she no longer loved him. 

The revelation was likely to raise eyebrows as Meghan has long championed women’s rights and campaigned against gender-based violence.