Prince Harry has been accused of using his security issues as ’emotional blackmail’ after Princess Diana’s death, by the British journalist who broke the news of her fatal car crash.
The Duke of Sussex, 37, is suing the Home Office over its decision in 2020 to remove his taxpayer-funded protection, which he says makes it unsafe for him to come to Britain with his wife, Meghan Markle, and two children, Archie and Lilibet.
In August, he filed a second lawsuit against the British government and Scotland Yard over the decision not to allow him to pay for police protection when he visits from California.
But journalist Mike Parry has said Prince Harry is using ‘the security card really as a manipulative pawn on the chess board… I think there is a little bit of emotional blackmail there because of what happened to his mother.’
He was speaking to ToDiForDaily.com’s Kinsey Schofield about the moment he had to confirm the news of Diana’s fatal car crash on August 31, 1997, to the world, when working as Executive Editor of the Press Association.
Prince Harry (pictured right) has been accused of using his security issues as ’emotional blackmail’ after Princess Diana’s death, by the British journalist who broke the news of her fatal car crash
The Princess of Wales and Prince Harry pictured on holiday in Spain on August 10, 1987
On her podcast this week, Ms Schofield asked the journalist whether Prince Harry expects similar security to his mother, after Mr Parry detailed the apparent vast amount Diana would have alongside her on occasion.
Mr Parry said: ‘I think Harry has had to deal with mental turmoil all his life, from the moment he was pictured walking behind his mother’s coffin… what kind of effect would that have on a little boy, as he was then?
‘And I’m sure that mental turmoil has tormented him all of his life, but remember, William was there as well.
‘William seems to have handled it better in the terms of growing up into an adult man with responsibilities and having to put the past behind him, live in the present and look to the future, which Harry has struggled to do.
‘I have to say, I think Harry sometimes uses the security card really as a manipulative pawn on the chess board.
‘I think there is a little bit of emotional blackmail there because of what happened to his mother.’
Meanwhile, Prince Harry has filed a second lawsuit against the Home Office which also names the Metropolitan Police, the High Court confirmed to MailOnline in August.
The Duke of Sussex has begun a second court case against the Home Office over its decision in 2020 to remove his taxpayer-funded protection
‘It is at an early stage, no hearings have been listed yet and no decisions have been made,’ the Judicial Office added.
The new case will focus on a decision in January by the Royalty and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC), which concluded that private individuals should not be allowed to pay for police to protect them.
The revelation of a second court case – which emerged on Meghan’s birthday – threatens to raise tensions with the Royal Family due to claims that the Queen’s Private Secretary, Sir Edward Young, was involved in the decision to deny Harry protection.
‘Significant tensions’ are said to have existed between the Duke of Sussex and Sir Edward, according to the prince’s legal team.
In August, he filed a second lawsuit against the British government and Scotland Yard over the decision not to allow him to pay for police protection when he visits from California. Pictured, Harry and Meghan in 2022
The news is also likely to dismay the government, which has spent £100,000 on its legal battle so far, according to a report released a week prior.
The Duke has been taking legal action against the department after being told he would no longer be given the ‘same degree’ of personal protective security when visiting from the US.
His representatives have previously told of how he wants to bring his family to visit from the US, but that they are ‘unable to return to his home’ because it is too dangerous.
The case is understood to have cost the Home Office £90,094.79 from September 2021 and May earlier this year.
That sum is understood to include £55,254 on the government’s Legal Department, £34,824 on counsel and £16.55 on couriers, The Sun reports.
Two hearings have taken place at the High Court in London since May, so it is predicted that the total bill will surpass £100,000. And that figure will rise further after a judge granted Harry’s legal team permission for part of his claim to have a judicial review into the Home Office’s decision.
The cost to the taxpayer would be reduced if the Home Office is awarded its costs back by the court and the Whitehall department run by Priti Patel has already said it will demand their legal costs back from Harry if his High Court battle fails.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘The UK Government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.
‘It would not be appropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings.’
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