Prince Harry dealt fresh blow upon return to UK amid al Qaida threat The Duke of Sussex claims his team was not made aware of a 2023 threat from al Qaida
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Prince Harry dealt fresh blow upon return to UK amid al Qaida threat
The Duke of Sussex claims his team was not made aware of a 2023 threat from al Qaida
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Melanie MacleodDeputy Beauty and Lifestyle Editor
1 day ago
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s surprise return to the UK was never going to be plain sailing, and the Duke and Duchess appear to have hit the first bump in the road since their homecoming.
It was reported on Sunday that Prince Harry has accused the chair of the body which authorises protection for senior royals of not passing on information about a 2023 threat from al Qaida to his security staff or to the authorities in the United States.
Within the letter, Prince Harry’s legal team is understood to have alleged that the head of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) was aware of a threat made by al Qaida, but did not pass this to Prince Harry’s security staff or to the authorities in the United States, where he was living at the time.
© Matt Dunham – WPA Pool/Getty Images
Prince Harry has long had concerns over the safety of his family
It is understood there have been at least six threats or plots concerning Prince Harry from the Taliban, al Qaida or their supporters since 2007.
The threats included plans to assassinate the duke in 2023 when he was based in the US, while in 2012, a Taliban spokesman announced an operation to kill or kidnap the prince.
Additionally, in 2010 there were threats to shoot down Harry’s Apache and capture him if he returned to Afghanistan, where he served in the war in 2007/8 and again 2012/3.
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Prince Harry’s plea for security
Ahead of their return to the UK, Prince Harry reportedly wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in August asking her to take a personal role in determining if his family receive close police protection, which was removed when they stepped down as working royals.
The battle has been ongoing since Meghan and Harry left the UK in 2020. At the time, he never suspected his security would be pulled, recounting in his memoir, Spare: “Meg asked me one night: ‘You don’t think they’d ever pull our security, do you?’ Never. Not in this climate of hate. And not after what happened to my mother. Also, not in the wake of my Uncle Andrew.”
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After Andrew’s scandal, Prince Harry never imagined his and Meghan’s security would be removed
Prince Harry continued: “He was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman, and no one had so much as suggested that he lose his security. Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren’t on the list.”
Despite his confidence that he would never lose his security while in the UK, that was what happened upon departure, and the Duke has been fighting ever since to regain security for his family. (Side note: Andrew stopped receiving taxpayer-funded protection in 2022, three years after he stepped back from public duties due to his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.)
Challenge against the Home Office over UK security arrangements
In 2024, a High Court judge dismissed Harry’s claim against the Home Office over security arrangements for himself and his family when they are in the UK.
The Duke challenged a February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which falls under the remit of the department, after being told he would no longer be given the “same degree” of personal protective security when visiting.
Harry’s lawyers said he was “singled out” and treated “less favourably” in the decision, arguing a failure to carry out a risk analysis and fully consider the impact of a “successful attack” on him meant the approach to his protection was “unlawful and unfair”.
The Government argued Ravec was entitled to conclude the Duke’s protection should be “bespoke” and considered on a “case-by-case” basis.
Retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled that Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair, claiming Harry’s lawyers had taken “an inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process”.
Harry was given permission to challenge Sir Peter’s ruling in June last year, but this after a two-day hearing in April 2025, his appeal was dismissed in May 2025.
Unlawful information-gathering allegations against Associated Newspapers
Harry was one of seven high-profile people, including Sir Elton John and Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, who brought legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations it carried out or commissioned unlawful information gathering.
The firmly denied allegations against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) include the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, the “blagging” of private records, and the accessing and recording of private phone conversations.
At a preliminary hearing, the publisher asked a judge to rule in its favour without a trial – arguing the legal challenges against it were brought “far too late”.
The Duke made a surprise appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice in London for the proceedings in March 2023, where his lawyers argued that those bringing legal action were “thrown off the scent” and not aware of being targeted, having believed “categorical denials” from ANL over any involvement in unlawful activity.
Judge Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in November 2023 that the publisher had failed to deliver a “knockout blow” to the early-stage legal challenges, allowing them to continue.
The case went to trial in 2026, and on July 7 the knockout blow was eventually delivered when Judge Nicklin ruled in favour of ANL on the grounds none of the group of seven had proven the allegations of unlawful information gathering.
Settlement with News Group Newspapers
Harry alleged he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes The Sun and published the now-defunct News Of The World.
Shortly before an up-to-10-week trial was due to begin earlier this year, the Duke and NGN reached an agreement including a “full and unequivocal apology” and “substantial” damages, announced on 22 January.
NGN apologised to Harry for intrusion between 1996 and 2011, including “incidents of unlawful activities” by private investigators working for The Sun.
The publisher also apologised to the Duke for phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators at the News of the World, which closed in 2011.
“We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the NGN statement said.
The publisher also apologised for the impact of the “serious intrusion” into the private life of Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
An NGN spokesperson previously said its apology to Harry covered “incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun, not by journalists, during the period 1996-2011″.
They added: “There are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now. There was no voicemail interception on The Sun.”
Lord Tom Watson, former Labour deputy leader, who was also taking legal action against the publisher, settled his claim as well.
Reporting by PA.
Where the Sussex family will be living now that they’re back on UK soil is not known. They flew into Birmingham in the Midlands, via a private jet – an interesting move as Prince Harry had been travelling on commercial flights when he visited.
© Samir Hussein/WireImage
Harry and Meghan flew to the UK on a private plane
With the safety and security of his family at the forefront of his mind, it makes sense that they chartered a private plane for their journey and perhaps this privately funded measure hints at how the duke will proceed in the family’s new UK life.
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