'He does want to come back to see family and friends,' Harry's lawyer said.
Prince Harry is speaking out about his safety concerns. In a Friday court hearing, lawyers for the 37-year-old royal said he's unwilling to bring his children to the U.K. without police protection, AP reports. Harry shares Archie, 2, and Lilibet, 8 months, with his wife, Meghan Markle.
During the preliminary hearing, Harry’s lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, said the royal "does not feel safe when he is in the U.K. given the security arrangements applied to him," according to the outlet.
"It goes without saying that he does want to come back to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart," she said of Harry, who did not attend the hearing, per the outlet. "Most of all, this is and always will be, his home."
Robert Palmer, a lawyer representing the British government, called Harry’s claim "unarguable and unmeritorious," AP reports.
Last month, the Duke of Sussex threatened to take legal action against a Home Office decision that prevents him from funding private security for his family in the U.K.
"Prince Harry inherited a security risk at birth, for life. He remains sixth in line to the throne, served two tours of combat duty in Afghanistan, and in recent years his family has been subjected to well-documented neo-Nazi and extremist threats," the statement read. "While his role within the Institution has changed, his profile as a member of the Royal Family has not. Nor has the threat to him and his family."
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex personally fund a private security team for their family, yet that security cannot replicate the necessary police protection needed whilst in the U.K.," the statement continued. "In the absence of such protection, Prince Harry and his family are unable to return to his home."
Harry and Meghan stepped back from their roles as senior members of the royal family in 2020. That same year, the pair moved to the United States, thus losing their taxpayer-funded police protection.
Harry's January statement noted that he is still willing to pay for security so "as not to impose on the British taxpayer." However, the lawyer representing the British government said in a written submission that Harry’s offer to pay for police security was irrelevant because "personal protective security by the police is not available on a privately financed basis," AP reports.
"The goal for Prince Harry has been simple," Harry's January statement read, "to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the U.K. so his children can know his home country."
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