Lawyer says Prince Harry was unfairly 'singled out' when stripped of UK security detail

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry was treated unfairly when he was stripped of his British security detail, his attorney told appeals court judges Tuesday as he sought to win back his government-funded protection.

Harry, whose rare appearance in court indicated the case's importance to him, lost his police bodyguards in February 2020 after he stepped down from his role as a working member of the royal family and moved to the U.S.

A High Court judge ruled last year that a government panel’s decision to provide “bespoke” security for the Duke of Sussex on an as-needed basis was not unlawful, irrational or unjustified.

But attorney Shaheed Fatima argued that a group that evaluated Harry's security needs failed to follow its own process and perform a risk management assessment.

“The appellant does not accept that bespoke means better,” Fatima said. “In fact, in his submission, it means that he has been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment.”

A lawyer for the government said Harry's argument in the lower court was accurately found to have been misconceived and based on an “inappropriate, formalist interpretation” of the government's security review.

“The appeal is fairly to be characterized in the same way," attorney James Eadie said. "It involves a continued failure to see the wood for the trees, advancing propositions available only by reading small parts of the evidence, and now the judgment, out of context and ignoring the totality of the picture.”

The hearing before three Court of Appeal justices is due to end Wednesday and a written decision is expected later. While the hearing was livestreamed, much of the second day will be conducted behind closed doors to discuss sensitive security details.

Harry arrived at court with a small security detail supplemented by court officers. He waved to cameras before disappearing into a private entrance.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, has bucked royal family convention by taking the government and tabloid press to court, where he has a mixed record.

But Harry rarely shows up to court hearings, making only a few appearances in the past two years. That included the trial of one of his phone hacking cases against the British tabloids when he was the first senior member of the royal family to enter the witness box in more than 130 years.

Harry and his wife had stepped back from their official roles in the family in 2020 because they didn’t feel they were “being protected by the institution," his lawyer said.

After doing so, a Home Office committee ruled there was “no basis for publicly funded security support for the duke and duchess within Great Britain.”

Harry claimed he and his family are endangered when visiting his homeland because of hostility aimed at him and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on social media and through relentless hounding by news media.

Since he lost his government-sponsored protection, Harry faced at least two serious security threats, his lawyer said in court papers. Al-Qaida had published a document that said Harry's assassination would please Muslims, and he and his wife were involved in a dangerous pursuit by paparazzi in New York.

He lost a related court case in which he sought permission to privately pay for a police detail when in the U.K. but a judge denied that offer after a government lawyer argued officers shouldn’t be used as “private bodyguards for the wealthy.”

Harry also dropped a libel case against the publisher of the Daily Mail for an article that said he had tried to hide his efforts to continue receiving government-funded security.

But he won a significant victory at trial in 2023 against the publisher of the Daily Mirror when a judge found that phone hacking at the tabloid was “widespread and habitual.” He claimed a “monumental” victory in January when Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

He has a similar case pending against the publisher of the Mail.

Britain's Prince Harry looks at the media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Britain's Prince Harry looks down as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Shaheed Fatima KC, watched by the Prince Harry, left, during the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, for his appeal against a High Court ruling on his legal claim against the Home Office. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)

Britain's Prince Harry looks towards the media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Prince Harry gestures as he arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Prince Harry gestures as he arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Prince Harry gestures as he arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Prince Harry waves as he arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Prince Harry, second left, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, central London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

FILE - Britain's Prince Harry speaks during a high level event sponsored by Lesotho at U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, file)

WASHINGTON (AP) — One of Pope Francis' final encounters before his death was with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who visited the Vatican over the weekend.

The meeting took place on Easter Sunday. Vance, a Catholic convert, entered the room and reached down for the pope's hand. “Hello,” the vice president said. “So good to see you."

Francis was sitting in a wheelchair, and his words were inaudible in a video released by the Vatican.

“I know you’ve not been feeling great, but it’s good see you in better health," Vance said.

A priest serving as a translator spoke for the pope.

“These are for your children,” the priest said as someone presented Vance with chocolate eggs. Next came a tray of additional gifts, including rosaries and a Vatican tie.

“Thank you,” Vance said as he held the dark tie. “So beautiful.”

They posed for a photo, Vance standing to the pope's right before bidding him farewell.

“I pray for you every day,” Vance said. “God bless you.”

Vance’s visit was not without political sensitivities, and he met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin on Saturday for what the Vatican described as “an exchange of opinions.” The Catholic Church, under Francis’ leadership, has championed the rights of migrants, while Vance and President Donald Trump have advocated for crackdowns.

Vance's office said the vice president and the cardinal “discussed their shared religious faith, Catholicism in the United States, the plight of persecuted Christian communities around the world, and President Trump’s commitment to restoring world peace.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that she had spoken to members of Vance's team on Monday morning after Francis' death.

“They expressed how excited and grateful they were for the opportunity to have met with the pope just yesterday,” she said.

Leavitt added that Francis "touched millions of lives throughout his tenure as the head of the Catholic Church and so it’s a solemn day for Catholics around the world and we are praying for all those who loved the pope and believed in him.”

Trump issued a statement on Truth Social: “Rest in Peace Pope Francis! May God Bless him and all who loved him!”

At the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday, Trump said he signed an executive order for U.S. flags to fly at half-staff in the pope's honor.

“He was a good man," the president told reporters. “He loved the world and it’s an honor to do that.”

Vance, who continued on to India after Italy, posted additional thoughts on social media.

“I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him,” he wrote on X. “I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill."

Vance shared a link to remarks that Francis gave on March 27, 2020, as COVID-19 was spreading around the globe.

“I’ll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID,” Vance wrote. “It was really quite beautiful.”

Francis had spoken from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

“Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities,” he said. “It has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void.”

He encouraged people to rely on their faith to help then endure “because with God life never dies.”

Pope Francis receives U.S. Vice President JD Vance, right, before bestowing the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and the world) blessing in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)