Prince Harry has written to the Home Secretary, requesting a review of his security arrangements amid renewed concerns over safety in the UK.
Shortly after Shabana Mahmood was appointed to the position, Harry wrote to her and formally requested a risk assessment from the Home Office-supervised Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), according to a source close to the duke.
According to claims in The Telegraph, Harry was twice approached "within feet" of a "known stalker" during his most recent trip to the UK in September.
On September 9, as the duke was attending the WellChild Awards at a hotel in central London, the woman entered a "secure zone." Two days later, she was seen close to Harry at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in west London, according to the tabloid.
This follows the duke's unsuccessful appeal in May that contested the denial of his High Court case against the Home Office over Ravec's ruling that he should be granted a different level of taxpayer-funded protection while in the nation.
According to a person close to Harry, the duke wrote Ms. Mahmood a letter during his September visit that was sent before the two incidents.
The duke stated in a TV interview that he "can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK" after losing the Court of Appeal battle.
The 41-year-old cautioned that the royal family's dominance over security "can be used to control" family members and told the BBC that he would persuade Yvette Cooper, the home secretary at the time, to "look at this very, very carefully."
Additionally, he stated that he would ask Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, to "step in.
The legal issue arose after Harry and the Duchess of Sussex declared their intention to resign as senior royals, leaving the UK and first relocating to Canada and then California.
Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos described Ravec's decision as "understandable and perhaps predictable" in his ruling summary.
The duke said that he could no longer bring Meghan and their kids, Prince Archie, because of the Court of Appeal's ruling.
A Government spokesperson said:
“The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.
It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
What are the key highlights of the request?
The Duke has requested the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) – which falls under the auspices of the Home Office – to undertake a formal risk assessment as part of its annual process that Ravec is meant to do concerning members of the Royal Family and other protected persons.
His last risk management board assessment was in 2019, and he has wanted Ravec to abide by its own policies that require annual assessments.
This most recent request comes in the wake of previous legal challenges brought to bear by the Duke over his taxpayer-funded level of protection that aspect of his legal challenges was dismissed.