PRINCE Harry has arrived at the High Court in London for an appeal after he lost a bid for publicly-funded security while in the UK.
The Duke of Sussex brought a case against the Home Office and the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec).
Harry claimed he was "singled out" after his round-the-clock royal protection was stripped in the wake of Megxit.
He also attempted to sue the Home Office because it refused to spend taxpayers' money on bodyguards after he left the Royal Family.
But in February last year, High Court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected the duke's case and ruled Ravec's approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair.
Harry has now returned to the court in London for a two-day appeal hearing against the ruling.
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He refused to answer when asked "did you speak to your dad?" after King Charles flew to Italy with Camilla for a state visit.
His arrival came on the day Meghan Markle launched her first podcast episode where she opens up about her scary health battles.
He and Meghan were stripped of their round-the-clock protection when they stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
Harry moaned he was unable to return with his children Meghan, Archie and Lilibet, "because it is too dangerous".
He was allowed security when he stayed at royal residences or attended royal events but had to fend for himself if he wanted to see friends.
Harry's lawyers argued he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” in the decision.
They added his treatment was “unlawful and unfair” and warned of “the impact on the UK’s reputation of a successful attack” against the duke.
Harry also wanted to fund his own Met Police armed bodyguards but officials refused - with insiders insisting cops are not "guns for hire".
Ravec claimed that allowing Harry to pay for his own protective security would be contrary to the public interest and undermine public confidence in the Met Police.
They also said the decision could not be reconciled with rules that expressly permit charging for certain police services.
This included using privately-funded police at one-off events such as football matches, marathons and celebrity weddings.
While Home Office lawyers argued he was no longer part of a group of people whose “security position” was under regular review by Ravec.
But they said the body was entitled to conclude the duke's protection should be "bespoke" and considered on a "case-by-case" basis.
In his ruling in February, Sir Peter Lane said there had not been any "unlawfulness" in the call to pull Harry's security.
He said Harry’s lawyers had taken “an inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process”.
The judge added: "The ‘bespoke’ process devised for the claimant in the decision of 28 February 2020 was, and is, legally sound.”
What level of security protection are working royals entitled to?
A HANDFUL of working members of the Royal Family have 24/7 protection - but others are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Senior officers are assigned to specific members of the household and are supported by others, one expert told The Sun.
He claimed there will always be a minimum of one protection officer with a member of the Royal Family, but the protection team is increased according to threat and risk.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Wales' family have round-the-clock protection and the monarch also has a corridor officer based outside his bedroom door, the expert said.
The likes of Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex are given protection when they are taking part in official engagements - but do not have taxpayer-funded security at their homes.
Prince Andrew had his taxpayer-funded security removed following the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
His daughters Princess Beatrice and Prince Eugenie are said to not have funded security as they are not full-time working royals - and are employed elsewhere.
Robert Jobson, an award-winning royal author, explained: "According to a 1917 Letters of Patent issued by King George V, the title of HRH Prince or Princess is passed to ‘The grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of this realm.
“Both Harry and Meghan know this. Archie, on the other hand, did not qualify to become a prince automatically.
“In 2012, Queen Elizabeth II issued a Letters Patent to expand on a previous decree that granted such a title only to the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales."
His appeal hearing comes amid mounting drama over his charity Sentebale.
The duke last month sensationally quit the trust, which he co-founded in 2006 in memory of his mother, Princess Diana.
Fellow royal patron Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and the rest of the Sentebale board also resigned after falling out with boss Dr Sophie Chandauka.
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She has since accused Harry of bullying and harassment with the Charity Commission watchdog investigating her claims.
