Prince Harry faced ‘murder’ threat after UK police protection cut

A threat made against Harry’s life has been revealed during an emotional exchange in a British court. Photo / Getty Images

• Prince Harry received a threat from al-Qaeda after his British police protection was cut.
• Harry is appealing a High Court ruling dismissing his case against the Home Office over the decision.
• His legal team argues the lack of formal risk assessment endangers his life.

A harrowing and legitimate threat sent to Prince Harry after the United Kingdom’s state-funded police protection was cut said that he was “to be murdered”.

In February 2020, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) decided that Harry should receive a different degree of protection when in Britain.

Harry, who has made allegations about the reason behind his security detail being axed, is appealing against a High Court ruling in 2024 dismissing his case against the Home Office over the decision.

According to the newly released summary of last week’s court proceedings, Harry was “to be murdered” and was told that his “assassination would please the Muslim community”.

Prince Harry’s automatic security was stripped in 2020 when he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from their royal roles. Photo / Getty Images

Harry’s legal team has insisted that his battle over his security detail is tantamount to a fight for his life.

Much of the argument heard this month during the second day of the proceedings, focused on the fact that no formal risk assessment (RMB) was completed when Harry’s automatic security was stripped in 2020 when he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from their royal roles.

The Duke of Sussex served with the British Army in Afghanistan more than a decade ago and it’s believed his time in the armed services is to blame for the heightened threats on his life.

“One must not forget the human dimension of this case. There is a person who is sitting behind me whose safety, whose security and whose life is at stake,” Harry’s lawyer Shaheed Fatima said in court.

“There is a person sitting behind me who’s been told he is getting a special bespoke process when he knows in his experience it is a process that is manifestly inferior in every sense.

“His presence here and throughout this appeal is a potent demonstration of how much this appeal means to him and his family,” she said.

A ruling is expected in the coming weeks. An insider close to Harry’s legal team said they were “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome.

Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back from official public duties on January 8, 2020.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were later told during the so-called “Sandringham summit”, which aimed to agree on the terms of their new role, that they would not be able to retain the fulltime police protection.

Instead, the couple were told that they would be required to notify British police 30 days before any travel to the country and that even then, security would not be guaranteed based on assessment for threat levels.