Prince Harry has reportedly made a secret trip to the UK landing just hours before his his father King Charles travelled to Italy for a historic state visit. The Duke of Sussex is said to have landed in London on Sunday with the trip coming ahead of the latest stage of the his legal challenge over the level of security he is given when he is in the UK starting at the Court of Appeal today.
Arriving on Sunday means that Harry’s time in the UK has overlapped with his father, whom he last saw more than a year ago when it was first announced that the monarch had been diagnosed with cancer.
However, according to The Sun, it is unknown if the pair met up. Harry has been taking legal action against the Home Office over the February 2020 decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the UK.
The High Court was told that the decision was made as a result of a change in the duke’s “status” after he stopped being a “full-time working member of the royal family“. In a judgment in February last year, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected the duke’s case and concluded Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair. Harry’s appeal against the ruling is scheduled to be heard today and tomorrow at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
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His apparent trip to the UK comes amid Harry being embroiled in a bitter war of words over his African charity Sentebale, which he dramatically quit almost two weeks ago. The orgnaniation is now the subject of a case by the Charity Commission. Harry described the past week’s events, which have included the chairwoman of the Sentebale charity levelling accusations of bullying and harassment in a bid to remove her, as “heartbreaking to witness”.
Several trustees have left the charity in a dispute with its chairwoman, Sophie Chandauka, having requested her resignation. Harry and fellow founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho backed the departing trustees and announced they had resigned as patrons until further notice last week.
Meanwhile, Harry’s case at the Royal Courts of Justice also coincides with the second day of Charles and Camilla’s second day of their state visit to Italy. Today they will watch a flypast of jets from the aerobatic teams of the UK and Italy when their state visit begins in earnest.
Charles and Camilla will be officially welcomed to Italy by the country’s president, Sergio Mattarella, and his daughter Laura Mattarella at his official residence the Quirinale Palace in Rome. During the ceremonial greeting the UK and Italy’s defence co-operation will be marked by a joint flypast over the capital by the Italian air force’s aerobatic team, Frecce Tricolori, and the RAF’s Red Arrows.
The president and the King will hold a private meeting while the statesman’s daughter, who acts as the first lady, will show the Queen a selection of antique books on horsemanship in the Biblioteca del Piffetti and tour the state rooms.
At the same time, in the United States, Harry’s wife Meghan is set to launch the first episode of her podcast, Confession of a Female Founder. The teaser for Confessions of a Female Founder, made with Lemonada Media, sees Meghan saying that it will give the “kind of advice that turns small ideas into billion-dollar businesses”.
In the one-minute preview for the show which was released several weeks ago, the Duchess of Sussex says: “I’m Meghan, and this is Confessions of a Female Founder, a show where I chat with female entrepreneurs and friends about the sleepless nights, the lessons learned, and the laser focus that got them to where they are today.
“We’re diving into the highs — and the lows – and the kind of advice that turns small ideas into billion-dollar businesses. And of course, we’re going to get some girl talk!”
As the royals get back to their normal duties after a difficult year, the Mirror has launched its very own Royal WhatsApp community where you’ll get all the latest news on the UK’s most famous family.
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