Prince Harry’s ongoing High Court battles over his UK police protection ‘expected to cost taxpayers over £1million’
- The bill has now hit £502,236 and his appeal is set to cost a further £500,000
- The duke had claimed it was unfair and illegal to remove his armed guard
The Duke of Sussex’s High Court battle to hire police protection is expected to cost taxpayers more than £1million.
The bill has already hit £502,236 and his appeal against a court decision last month is set to cost an additional £500,000.
The court ruled it would set an unwanted precedent to allow millionaires to fund their own police protection.
As a result, Harry will have to fork out some court costs – but only £10,000. A Freedom of Information request showed that the case has cost the State £492,000 – with Harry paying the other £10,000.
The duke had claimed it was unfair and illegal to remove his armed guard when he visits the UK. The Home Office and Metropolitan Police both argued it was not in the public interest to protect him.
Prince Harry’s High Court battle to hire police protection is expected to cost taxpayers more than £1million. Pictured: The Duke of Sussex, leaves the High Court in London, March 27, 2023
The duke had claimed it was unfair and illegal to remove his armed guard when he visits the UK. Pictured: Harry and Meghan attend Commonwealth Day Service, March 09, 2020
According to The Sun, the Home Office cannot get the costs back due to an unspecified loophole.
Both Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals some three and a half years ago.
Prince Harry’s representatives have since been contacted by MailOnline.
The news comes after it was revealed Meghan’s lucrative Spotify podcast Archetypes will not be renewed for a second season.
The audio giant and the Sussexes’ audio production company Archewell Audio released a joint statement on Thursday night saying they have ‘mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together’.
Meghan and Harry reportedly signed a £15million ($20million) deal with Spotify for the project in late 2020 but insiders close to the audio giant claim the royal couple did not meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The move to ditch the Duchess of Sussex’s show, which explores the ‘labels that try to hold women back’, follows discussions months ago about renewing it for a second series.
The talent agency that recently signed Meghan, WME, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.’
The podcast reached the top of Spotify’s charts in the week it premiered.
Spotify, Archwell and WME have been contacted by MailOnline.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the track and field event at the Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, April 17, 2022
Meghan Markle’s Spotify podcast Archetypes will not be renewed for a second season, it was announced
Archetypes launched in August last year, exploring the ‘labels that try to hold women back’. The Duke and Duchess reportedly signed the deal for $20million but will not receive the full payout as it did not reach the productivity benchmark
It follows speculation that Duke and Duchess of Sussex will now stop making tell-all Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and sitting down for interviews that bash the Royal Family, according to sources close to the pair, as they have ‘nothing left to say’.
Since officially leaving the Royal Family and moving to California in 2020, the Duke and Duchess have pursued a number of different avenues to bring in revenue.
This includes Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare which he created as part of a $20million deal with Penguin Books.
The couple also teamed up with Netflix to produce the docu-series called Harry And Meghan, with the streaming giant reportedly paying the pair $100million for the six-episode series.
