Prince Harry to skive off Prince Philip's memorial service in UK over security concerns

The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, has decided to pull out from participating in grandfather Prince Philip's memorial service in the United Kingdom citing security concerns. His decision ensued the legal battle against UK Home Office over security arrangements in Britain. However, the 37-year-old royal has planned to visit the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, "as soon as possible," Prince Harry's spokesperson told reporters.

According to reports, Prince Harry has opted out from attending the Service of Thanksgiving for the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, on March 29 to be hosted at the Westminster Abbey. The last time Prince Harry was in the UK was to unveil a statue of his later mother Princess Diana in July 2021. He was accompanied by his brother Prince William.

The news comes amid the legal tussle with the UK Home Office, which has refused to provide the Duke of Sussex with the "same degree" of personal protection that he was offered before stepping back from royal responsibilities, despite Harry agreeing to pay for it himself. Addressing the press, a legal representative of Prince Harry said that he wants to bring his children from the US but is "unable to return to his home" as it is "too dangerous."

What is the legal battle with UK Home office about?

It is to mention that the Prince is currently seeking an inquest against Home Office's refusal to permit him personally pay for bodyguards when in the UK. Currently based in the US with the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, Prince argues that his incumbent private security team does not have adequate jurisdiction outside Britain. The application for the judicial review in the High Court against the decision of the public body came after the Duke faced a "security breach" in London in 2021. His car was chased by paparazzi after he left a charity event, BBC reported. Notably, the Duke lost his public-funded private security after ditching the royal title in 2020.

Duke of Sussex seeks to keep the lawsuit 'confidential'

As the proceeding of the suit went about, Prince Harry urged the High Court to consider keeping the details of the hearings confidential. However, later, both sides agreed that some papers would be made public with the UK Home Office saying that they will carry out a "confidentiality exercise" to determine the length of documents to be kept secret. The Home Office argued that the exercise is expected to cause "an unprecedented expenditure of time and resources."

(Image: AP)