Why does Prince Harry think he’s safer in the Netherlands than UK? Ex-royal protection officer says

Prince Harry would have been safer coming to Britain for his grandfather’s memorial service than going to Holland for the Invictus Games in a fortnight, the senior police officer who protected him and his mother told MailOnline today.

The Duke of Sussex has made the decision to cross the Atlantic for The Hague shortly after refusing to be with his British family at Westminster Abbey ten days ago.

After being delayed by the pandemic, the next staging of the Invictus Games, an international sports competition for injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, will take place from April 16 to 22. 

Former Met Inspector Ken Wharfe, who was protection officer for Princess Diana, William and Harry, has said Invictus’ links to the military and former soldiers –  common targets for terrorists including ISIS extremists – means the potential threat to them and Harry is arguably higher there than being in London for Prince Philip’s service of thanksgiving on March 29. 

The High Court heard the duke did not feel safe in Britain without Scotland Yard officers with him. Harry wants to bring his children to visit from the US, but is ‘unable to return to his home’ because it is too dangerous, a legal representative previously said.

But he is still jetting across the world to The Hague. Police and security services in the Netherlands have refused to say whether he will get royal protection in Holland, although it is likely because one of the event’s partners is the Dutch ministry of defence, which is also in charge of the country’s security and terrorism.

Ken Wharfe told MailOnline: ‘I’m baffled about why Harry thinks he would be safer in the Netherlands than in the UK. He would have travelled to his grandfather’s memorial service with his brother or father and received protection from the Met. It’s not like he would have been turning up at Westminster Abbey on a bike’.

He added: ‘The Dutch police will be doing their own security assessments and liaising with Harry’s private security. But my view it is more of a risk to go to Holland to support a charity with a military link than coming to London last week’.

The Duke of Sussex also joked recently he was learning Dutch and wore orange – the national colour of the Netherlands

Ken Wharfe, who protected Diana, Harry and William, (pictured together in 1993) says he is ‘baffled’ by the Duke of Sussex’s decision not to travel to the UK but go to Holland

The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee are in charge of protecting the Dutch royal family and visiting dignitaries. The Dutch force declined to comment on whether they would be protecting Harry when approached by MailOnline 

Ken Wharfe agrees the the Government is right to stand up to Harry over security

MailOnline has asked Prince Harry’s spokesman about his security arrangements for Invictus. The Dutch and MoD and royal protection departments declined to comment.

A spokesman said: ‘We take measures based on the security threat level’.

The duke is at the heart of an extraordinary legal wrangle over his security when coming to Britain. He mounted a legal challenge against the Home Office having been told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US, despite claiming he had offered to pay for it himself. 

Mr Wharfe said that ‘nobody is stopping Harry bringing his own security to the UK’, although they would not be able to carry guns. He also said he believed the Met and the Government would ‘meet him halfway’ and provide a liaison officer to talk through any risks, but said the British authorities were ‘quite right’ to take a stand against him.

‘Harry wants everything to be the way it was before he left for America’, he said.

The experienced royal protection officer added: ‘When with the Royal Family he would be protected by armed officers’ but not if he wanted to go out with his mates to the pub in the evening.

Last month the High Court heard that the duke did not feel safe in Britain without Scotland Yard officers, who he believes offer superior protection to privately-hired bodyguards.

The Duke’s legal team claimed he wanted to return to the UK ‘to see family and friends’, adding: ‘Most of all, this is and always will be his home.’

Harry was said to have wanted to return for the thanksgiving service for Philip, and to bring his children Archie and Lilibet and wife Meghan. 

Government officials were said to have been infuriated by the royal’s legal action.

They allegedly warned him British police officers are not available for ‘personal protective security’, and that it was ‘irrelevant’ he offered to pay for them himself.

After his grandfather died in April last year, Harry did return for the funeral, leaving his then-pregnant wife Meghan and son Archie behind in America.

The decision for Harry to miss such an important event last week, particularly one which honoured his much-loved grandfather, is likely to add further tension to the strained relationship with his family.

When the Queen recently announced that it was her ‘sincere wish’ that Camilla would become Queen when her husband Charles is King, Harry made no publicly supportive comment to his stepmother in response to the news.

And the Royal family is braced for further bombshells from Harry when he publishes his memoirs, which are said to have been pushed back to the end of this year.

Yesterday Harry surprised Invictus Games Team UK competitors with a video call as members gathered for a final training camp before the event takes place in the Netherlands later this month.

The duke founded the games to aid the rehabilitation of injured or sick military personnel and veterans from across the globe, by giving them the challenge of competing in sporting events similar to the Paralympics. 

The room erupted in laughter when Harry commented on the fact the competitors had had two years to prepare for the games and that therefore fitness should not be an issue.

‘You realise that no-one, not just you guys, no-one’s got any excuses for not being fit now,’ he joked.

Harry also enquired about former royal army physical training corps instructor Vic Wales, who was one of the instructing staff while he was a cadet at Sandhurst.

‘Is my PTI from Sandhurst in here somewhere?’ Harry asked, before spotting her and exclaiming: ‘There she is.’

Prince Andrew controversially walked her mother down the aisle at Westminster Abbey. Pictured: He releases his mother from his arm as she walks the final steps to her seat unaided

He said: ‘I can’t believe after, how many years, 15 years, our paths are about to cross again.

‘You used to shout at me so much.’

Harry appeared to be told that he needed it, as he then said: ‘I needed it. Yeah, cool. That’s also fair enough.’