Estranged British royal Prince Harry believes that the U.K. should humor his desire for excessive security if he brings his family back to visit, even after he willingly chose to leave the royal family and his associated roles. Harry now says that he believes his children will not be safe in the United Kingdom since the Home Office rejected his request to hire police protection to augment his private security should he visit the country.
Harry asks for special treatment
Harry, who complained of racism and public pressures after marrying his American wife, claimed that he wanted to live as a private citizen when he distanced himself from the royal family.
Since that departure, Harry and his wife have continually tried to cash in on their royal status, occasionally being shocked to discover that they are no longer entitled to their old privileges.
Lawyers representing the prince are now suing the government for the United Kingdom for their refusal to allow Harry to pay for police protection to allay his fears.
The government says that his legal challenge to their decision has no merit; Harry chose to become a private citizen and police officers cannot simply be hired out to private citizens.
Harry and his children will of course have police protection in the United Kingdom when it is necessary, but they will not be able to pay for the privilege of getting to decide when that is.
The prince seems to think that he and his family are constantly in danger, so the demanded police protection would likely be for the duration of his stay in the country.
U.K government refuses request
A lawyer representing Harry stated that, in addition to visiting friends and supporting charities, the prince wants to return because the United Kingdom “is, and always will be, his home.”
The prince may still feel that the U.K. will always be his home, but he and his wife have for now chosen to settle in the United States, where they work to inject themselves into American celebrity culture and make pronouncements about liberal causes.
Harry and his children are increasingly distant from the line of succession and increasingly distant from the U.K. A British government has no great need to indulge them.
The Home Office seems to think that if Harry wants to come home for a visit he should come like any other celebrity who has settled abroad.
The prince, of course, argued that being a public figure was not something he was ever given a choice on, as he was born into the royal family.
Fair enough, but the rest of the world might ask why he has continued to seek attention from the media and expect favorable treatment even after ostensibly choosing to leave his former life behind.