Prince Harry’s ongoing High Court battle over his British police protection ‘expected to cost taxpayers more than £1 million’
- The bill has now reached £502,236 and his appeal will 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’s battle to hire police protection is expected to cost taxpayers more than £1million.
The bill has already reached £502,236 and his appeal against a court decision last month will cost a further £500,000.
The court ruled that it would set an undesirable precedent by allowing millionaires to fund their own police protection.
As a result, Harry will have to pay some court costs, but only £10,000. A Freedom of Information request revealed 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 the Metropolitan Police both argued that 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 £1 million. Pictured: The Duke of Sussex leaves the Supreme Court in London on 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 the Commonwealth Day Service, March 9, 2020
According to The Sun, the Home Office cannot recover the costs due to an unspecified loophole.
Both Harry and Meghan retired as working royals some three and a half years ago.
Prince Harry’s representatives have now been approached by MailOnline.
The news comes after it was announced that 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 evening saying they have “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we have created together.”
Meghan and Harry reportedly signed a £15 million ($20 million) deal with Spotify for the project in late 2020, but insiders close to the audio giant claim the royal couple failed to meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout , reported the Wall Street Journal. .
The move to cancel the Duchess of Sussex’s show, which explores the ‘labels that try to stop women’, follows discussions months ago about renewing for a second series.
The talent agency that recently signed Meghan, WME, told the Wall Street Journal, “The team behind Archetypes continues to be proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan will continue to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.”
The podcast reached the top of Spotify’s charts the week it premiered.
Spotify, Archwell and WME have been approached by MailOnline.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the athletics 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 was launched last August and explores the ‘labels that try to stop women’. The Duke and Duchess reportedly signed the deal for $20 million but will not receive the full payout as it failed the productivity benchmark
It follows speculation that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will now stop making telltale Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and attending interviews bashing the royal family, according to sources close to the couple, because they have “nothing left to do”. have say’.
Since officially leaving the royal family and moving to California in 2020, the Duke and Duchess have taken a number of different avenues to generate income.
This includes Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, which he made as part of a $20 million deal with Penguin Books.
The pair also teamed up with Netflix to produce the Harry And Meghan docu-series, with the streaming giant reportedly paying the pair $100 million for the six-episode series.