Prince Harry says ‘can’t’ put my wife in danger, High Court hears in legal battle

Prince Harry has asserted that the UK 'is my home' and stated that he was 'forced' to withdraw from royal responsibilities and relocate to the US.

The Duke of Sussex and his children cannot 'feel at home' in Britain if it is 'not possible to keep them safe', the High Court heard.

In a written witness statement prepared for his legal challenge against the Home Office over a change to his security arrangements when visiting the UK, meaning his taxpayer-funded armed protection could be removed, Harry said he and his wife Meghan had no option but to leave the country in 2020.

At a hearing in London today, the duke's barrister, Shaheed Fatima KC, said Harry did not accept that it was a 'choice' for him to have stopped being a 'full-time working member of the royal family'.

The lawyer read out an excerpt from the duke's statement in which he said: 'It was with great sadness for both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020.

'The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the US. That cannot happen if it's not possible to keep them safe when they are on UK soil.

'I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too.'

Harry now faces a wait for a judge's ruling on his legal action against the Home Office after a two-and-half-day hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice concluded on Thursday.