Harry’s security case

[smilesy]

The judgment is in Harry loses High Court challenge over UK security protection www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68421992 See here

No Andrew doesn’t get tax payer funded security anymore so I agree the redacted name isn’t him. Harry is desperate to be seen as important as William and his reasoning would be they are both the sons of Charles so should be treated equally, he can’t get his ego around the fact that William is going to be our Head of State whilst he just flogs his wares to the highest bidder.

Is it a coincidence that, with "redacted" probably being William, and with Harry knowing this judgment was to be released, this has come out within days of ABC putting out that bizarre "documentary" on HULU (which must have been sanctioned by Archewell because of the footage used) which is supposed to be about Invictus, but is largely a spiteful little missive focussing on the notion that William is Harry's "rival" and jealous of him. As well as Harry cos playing statesman with the Canadian First Nations representatives as if his involvement in these "talks" means anything.

When this all first started fracturing and there were reports Harry and Meghan were unhappy with the hierarchy and felt they should be rewarded according to their own perceived value, i.e. superior to the ‘old fashioned formal frosty couple’. I thought at the time what utter nonsense, surely they know how it works in that type of titled family. They could never one-up William and Kate by being the ‘younger more popular breath of fresh air’ couple. The more this has all played out, there is the obvious presence of bitter resentment and sibling rivalry. It appears he was overindulged by Diana, and probably others, to compensate for not being the heir. It’s ended up being quite harmful.

Funny they accuse the press of being strategic in this way, but the last few weeks have shown they’re pretty canny when it comes to propaganda, sorry PR, too.

There is no English government.

I might be wrong but I thought I read the security thing was also because it gives him access to certain information he’s not currently privy to?
And also now he has to tell the police etc when he is visiting and not just swan over when it suits him.

Appeals are a good thing. Annoying to read about but they do mean that once he’s appealed and it’s all be read carefully and his views are considered etc etc and he’s told to FO again… THEN… there’s no recourse. We would all want to be able to appeal an unfair decision. And we all want to be able to read why he can still sod off and he’s still a spoiled entitled middle aged man who can’t understand why he’s not being treated more favourably than any other royal who won’t work for The Firm.

So he’s actually doing a public service by appealing, by proving much needed distraction and humour…maybe he does deserve pots of public money after all! 😆

I've been watching a lot of YouTube lately (being on holiday), in particular The Vintage Read and her discussions of "The Housekeeper's Diary" by Wendy Berry.

It's been fascinating actually. And it's clear just how strained Charles & Diana's marriage was, and how much their children were used as pawns during it (moreso by Diana). It's no wonder Harry is as petulant as he is - he's exactly like his mother, but not as effective at manipulating or gaslighting those around him, probably because Diana was incredibly charismatic and could be utterly lovely at times. He doesn't seem to have inherited that.

@IcedPurple But his private security guards in California don't have 'access to intelligence' either, do they?

I think that's true, but I would imagine having access to weapons in the US makes them feel more secure. And I would think that the security they buy comes with some high level connections, because I think that security firm they use are former secret agents or something, or used to dealing with very high profile individuals.

I do think if Harry feels so unsafe, even after appeals, then he should just rarely go, as he's doing. And Meghan and the children remain in the US as they normally do.

Agree, he should avoid certain situations and actions to reduce risk. Such as highly publicised events, and undiplomatic comments about hostile parties. Strange he wasn’t fearful enough to avoid those. And how come he doesn’t feel unsafe when he’s off on jollies around the globe?

Ah thank you, sounds v interesting! have time on my hands whilst I get over something, so def on my list. A shame the book is so hard to get hold of though! 🙂 Just to say, you’re another poster I respect highly, your contributions are always excellent and enjoyable food for thought!

Presume he has private security?

So stick to using that then 👍

Sort of.

State security is privy to classified information and intelligence re: threats that private security won't be.

It does not necessarily follow that H would be made privy to that information.

What it does mean is that H's security needs are currently reviewed/assessed with the latest intelligence reports in mind and also in conjunction with what he is doing/where he is going whilst in the UK.

If he is assessed as needing security, he will get it to level that reflects the threat assessment.

However to get this he needs to give notice. He can't just rock up and expect to do "whatever". He has to provide dates/locations etc etc.

Before he left this was not an issue. He had 24hr security on demand. The thing is that was planned for and he was out and about in the UK a lot.

To maintain that now The Met would need a protection team on standby just in case he decided to grace the Uk with his presence.

Most of the time doing sweet FA as he is not here and that would divert resources from people who need personal security right now, here in the UK (and it's not all royalty, diplomats, politicians etc it can be ordinary people whose found themselves in awful situations that lead to consequences such as witness protection).

It's perfectly reasonable to say he needs to give notice if he wants state security.

Why do people think royal visits abroad are often planned years in advance? It's so the itinerary can be addressed and security can be planned in conjunction with local state security teams.

H's "local" state security team, as per his choice to live in the USA. is no longer in the UK. So they need to be liased with and given notice of any visit. Perfectly normal.

Given he is not a US citizen he is not eligible for US state security.

The court documents make clear that much of this was made clear to H re how his security was likely to change.

What H wants is to have his cake and eat it.

He either didn't understand what he was told or thought the rules didn't apply to him.

From the judgement re: communications to the Cabinet Secretary about him escalating matters I think the latter.

Finally re: the comparison being Andrew I very much doubt that. Andrew doesn't have 24hr security and I don't think even H would be stupid enough to align his situation with that of his Uncle.

The only person he would feel on par with is William and Spare lays bare his resentment from the title onwards about being the younger sibling.

But as per my post above that is not comparable whether he likes it or not.

Fighting the perks of primogeniture whilst still hanging on to your own title and that of your child just makes you look like a dick.

‘Fighting the perks of primogeniture whilst still hanging on to your own title and that of your child just makes you look like a dick.’ 👏😂

I don’t think anyone can not have sympathy with a father/husband who’s received death threats because his wife is biracial, or his children are biracial, or because he’s betrayed king & country by not marrying an English rose. Leaving aside the circumstances in which his mother died (because they’re not relevant), it must be terrifying walking the streets (or royal equivalent) thinking that randoms are looking to take you out. Most people would seek advice and try to contextualise the level of threat/potential harm so they could go on with their daily lives; I guess Harry’s free not to or to ignore advice and feed the paranoia seeing as he has the means.

But, if he is legitimately worried for his and his family’s life, why write about Taliban headcount in your memoir?

Why does your wife feel safe enough to commission paparazzi shots in LA and Beverly Hills and Montecito, but not safe enough to travel twixt airport and palace in the UK without a police escort and outriders, as though whoever is threatening her can’t get in a place to LAX?

Why publicize your travel itinerary?

I can’t think of another royal or California-based celebrity with as much non-work-related tabloid visibility as Harry and Meghan. It’s not because they’re more fascinating than Jenifer Aniston or Kate Middleton. It’s because, for Meghan’s part she pays for publicity (in cash or agreements) as part of a PR campaign for whatever commercial endeavors she’s pursuing; and in Harry’s case it’s to maintain relevance and currency. Ultimately, for both, it’s to earn a living. Which is fine, everyone has to do it. But then you can’t expect to choose the one type of living that demands a high public profile…..and complain that because you’re so high profile and at such risk (in part because of your own actions) other people should cover your eye-wateringly high work expenses from finite resources that are already stretched to the limit (ie the taxpayer). Let the plebs suffer from knife-crime, unmanned police stations, at the hands of a systemically and institutionally racist Met police etc etc - MY wife and kids should be prioritized at whatever cost. Budgetary constraints shouldn’t apply to us, even though we are private citizens too.

And then, to add insult to injury, he’s questioning the right of the people who can confer security privileges to do their jobs; he’s demanding to know how they do their jobs so he can challenge them; he ACTUALLY said it would be harmful to the reputation of the entiiiiiire country if any harm were to befall him or his family and intimidated that the people whose job it is to allocate security resources didn’t take this into account; he demands to know who within the bureaucracy took the final decision; finally he’s basically saying “don’t you know who I am? I’m the king’s son, I deserve multi-million pound protection for me and my family whenever I want it at the drop of a hat, just because I exist (and don’t do anything to earn it)”.

He’s losing every war right now: PR, legal, financial, familial, commercial. Just, everything. And he’s exposing what the men in grey worked (with hindsight) very effectively to keep hidden: what an egregiously entitled spoilt, snobbish, ignorant, uneducated man he is and how utterly and completely lacking in humility he is. Harry, the global humanitarian 😂

"So my questions remains as to why Harry does not request official security from the State of California, his place of residence."

Two reasons: 1. California already has a 73 billion dollar budget deficit, so there's no money to protect a petulant prince with an out-sized idea of his own importance, and, 2. The governor of California despises Harry's wife with the white-hot fire of a 1000 suns because she drove him crazy calling and texting him all hours of the day and night trying to get him to put her in Diane Feinstein's Senate seat when plenty of long-standing, hard-working party members were in line in front of her.

California isn't going to do squat to protect M and H.

I don’t think anyone can not have sympathy with a father/husband who’s received death threats because his wife is biracial, or his children are biracial, or because he’s betrayed king & country by not marrying an English rose.

The reality is that H&M had a huge amount of public support as evidenced by the crowds at their wedding.

In the UK there was a huge (and rightly so) response to any overt racial prejudice in the national press. To the point that the OW interview used non UK headlines to evidence a narrative that was fanciful.

In terms of coverage that was less overt there is absolutely evidence of this.

On social media i appreciate the situation was different but that's a global audience.

I have not met anyone in RL who thinks negatively about H&M for reasons other than their own behaviours since they issued their "half in, half out" we want to have both sides of the coin statement and then after that was refused went on a slash and burn campaign against the institution that gives them the platform and privilege they keep trying to monetise.

The real issue I ponder is not so not H&M's grifting, but the mindset of people who still think they should be celebrated in any way.

He sounds more and more paranoid and unpleasant. Must be the weed.

Absolutely this.

@smilesy he even got security when he came to see charles a couple of weeks ago for that 30 minute meeting!! he should have absolutely no security provided by the tax payers of the UK!!! they have their own security in usa so they can bring them along with them and pay for the hotel accomodation for everyone as well as themselves! remember, he didnt want to be royal so he cannot have it both ways!!

She asked the question and accepted the answer I can't fault her on that score I don't even fault Harry for asking I find fault with what he is doing now tbh his parents should have taught him no means no im not sure why he has such difficulty in accepting that

Excellent points, @shenandoahvalley .
He does seem very entitled, arrogant, petulant and demanding. Also paranoid.
The point about long term weed smoking is a good one.

I think he got that for compassionate reasons likewise the coronation and funerals. It was the trip with the wellchild Kew Gardens itinerary that he is disputing as he did not get “ appropriate “ security then.
I suspect his plans going forward are to combine visits to Pa ( and get full security) with his other activities like wellchild etc so he does get full security. I expect everyone is wise to this though. What a pita for the poor buggers on RAVEC having to decifer even visit and him sending lawyer letters to argue every decision. This court case and any appeal actually helps RAVEC as they can refer to it now.