The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Family, News and Events 9: August 2023 -

More photos from the visit to Canada:
https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_i...rincipe-harry-meghan-markle-fin-viaje-canada/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...y-hell-way.html?ico=topics_pagination_desktop

Hallo girl said:

Very true.

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I wholeheartedly agree.

Kenya said:

Yep. It's definitely hard to trust and reconnect with someone willing to disclose private family moments for profit.

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Also, don’t forget the family very probably has information the public hasn’t seen. (I’m thinking the bullying investigation, e.g.)

Kenya said:

Yep. It's definitely hard to trust and reconnect with someone willing to disclose private family moments for profit.

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Agreed. Which is why I don’t fault Meghan for not doing it with her family members whatsoever.

And clearly Harry and his family. That dynamic is what it is.

Kenya said:

Yep. It's definitely hard to trust and reconnect with someone willing to disclose private family moments for profit.

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100%. The cousin should ask Thomas Markle whether or not selling out his daughter has made them any closer.

The Duchess of Sussex was seen out for lunch yesterday, February 22, in Beverly Hills:


** dailymail article **

HenRach Dominion said:

100%. The cousin should ask Thomas Markle whether or not selling out his daughter has made them any closer.

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Maybe somebody should ask Harry a similar question.

It's 8:26 AM here in the USA East Coast and I'm reading the news articles that today, Friday Feb 23rd Prince Harry will be in court concerning his USA Visa application case. I'm assuming the ruling will be known many hours from now but here's an article from the Hindustan Times from 40 minutes ago that discusses it.

I'm not sure if there's a specific thread on the USA Visa situation so feel free to relocate my post if needed. I placed it under current events since it's happening today and affecting both Harry and Meghan.

Toledo said:

It's 8:26 AM here in the USA East Coast and I'm reading the news articles that today, Friday Feb 23rd Prince Harry will be in court concerning his USA Visa application case. I'm assuming the ruling will be known many hours from now but here's an article from the Hindustan Times from 40 minutes ago that discusses it.

I'm not sure if there's a specific thread on the USA Visa situation so feel free to relocate my post if needed. I placed it under current events since it's happening today and affecting both Harry and Meghan.

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Harry is not going to court, a while ago, the Heritage Foundation initiated proceedings against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to have Harry's visa records made public. Their contention is that Harry's drug use should have disqualified him from getting a Visa, so either Harry lied on his application or he was given favorable treatment. DHS' rebuttal is that to release the information would be a breach of privacy.

Here is another article that may be clearer, Prince Harry's latest interview gets dragged into lawsuit

The Heritage Foundation has been constantly denied. It’s just a publicity grab. They will be denied again. This has nothing to do with Harry outside using him to come at the DHS.

It's here 4:51 PM in the USA Eastern time, or 16:51 PM
More news from 28 minutes ago related to the hearing today with Prince Harry's situation in the USA - I can't remove the bold setting even though I copy and pasted as plain text -

Prince Harry faces one main obstacle applying for U.S. citizenship.​

Excerpt:
"...King Charles’ son Prince Harry’s step towards U.S. citizenship can cost him a lot while the Duke of Sussex faces one major problem.
Prince Harry would have to be transparent about his drug history..."


From 1 hr ago:
A Conservative Group Is Trying to Get Prince Harry’s Drug-Related Immigration Records Released
Excerpt:
A federal court on Friday will hear a lawsuit brought by the conservative Heritage Foundation against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to obtain the immigration records of Prince Harry, who has lived in the U.S. since 2020, over concerns about his admitted use of illegal drugs...In suing the DHS, the Heritage Foundation is seeking clarity on whether proper protocols were followed in granting the Duke of Sussex entry into the U.S.

For a frame of reference: The group that is suing to obtain his records is one of many extreme right groups that requests donations, per their website, to promote amongst other things 'traditional American values' and Mobilizing Conservatives - uniting the conservative movement to work together". In their website About Us section they openly reveal how they use their pressure on elected officials to cater to their agenda.

So, Harry is now a target of radical groups in the USA and his difficult situation is now exploited since the Sussex are also associated, in their view, to opposite political and social opinions. Part of me feels sorry for Harry, because when he becomes a target of these radical groups things can escalate very fast.

Toledo said:

It's here 4:51 PM in the USA Eastern time, or 16:51 PM
More news from 28 minutes ago related to the hearing today with Prince Harry's situation in the USA - I can't remove the bold setting even though I copy and pasted as plain text -

Prince Harry faces one main obstacle applying for U.S. citizenship.​

Excerpt:
"...King Charles’ son Prince Harry’s step towards U.S. citizenship can cost him a lot while the Duke of Sussex faces one major problem.
Prince Harry would have to be transparent about his drug history..."


From 1 hr ago:
A Conservative Group Is Trying to Get Prince Harry’s Drug-Related Immigration Records Released
Excerpt:
A federal court on Friday will hear a lawsuit brought by the conservative Heritage Foundation against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to obtain the immigration records of Prince Harry, who has lived in the U.S. since 2020, over concerns about his admitted use of illegal drugs...In suing the DHS, the Heritage Foundation is seeking clarity on whether proper protocols were followed in granting the Duke of Sussex entry into the U.S.

For a frame of reference: The group that is suing to obtain his records is one of many extreme right groups that requests donations, per their website, to promote amongst other things 'traditional American values' and Mobilizing Conservatives - uniting the conservative movement to work together". In their website About Us section they openly reveal how they use their pressure on elected officials to cater to their agenda.

So, Harry is now a target of radical groups in the USA and his difficult situation is now exploited since the Sussex are also associated, in their view, to opposite political and social opinions. Part of me feels sorry for Harry, because when he becomes a target of these radical groups things can escalate very fast.

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For a frame of reference, The Heritage Foundation is hardly an "extreme right group". They're a run-of-the-mill, Washington DC-based conservative think tank that has been in existence for 50+ years.

It seems like the Heritage Foundation would have more important issues to bring before the US Federal District Court than if Prince Harry divulged on his visa application a history of illegal drug use back in his youth. "It is hereby ordered that the parties shall appear in-person for oral argument on the motions before Judge Carl J. Nichols in Courtroom 17 on Friday, February 23, 2024 (yesterday)at 2:30 p.m." Prince Harry drugs case heads for court showdown
No final outcome has been determined that I can see, however The Dept of Homeland Security is requesting the court to throw this case out.

Lady Daly said:

It seems like the Heritage Foundation would have more important issues to bring before the US Federal District Court than if Prince Harry divulged on his visa application a history of illegal drug use back in his youth. "It is hereby ordered that the parties shall appear in-person for oral argument on the motions before Judge Carl J. Nichols in Courtroom 17 on Friday, February 23, 2024 (yesterday)at 2:30 p.m." Prince Harry drugs case heads for court showdown
No final outcome has been determined that I can see, however The Dept of Homeland Security is requesting the court to throw this case out.

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Why? Prince Harry brought this on himself by sharing details of his illegal drug use in Spare. Without delving too far into a political discussion, it seems to me that this case would be a great way of highlighting how the DHS is not enforcing the immigration laws already on the books but instead letting anyone into the US who wants in without even a cursory background check. It's not as if Harry's occasional, recreational drug use wasn't known and perhaps warranted a closer investigation if he did indeed omit even THAT information from his visa application.

Sunnystar said:

For a frame of reference, The Heritage Foundation is hardly an "extreme right group". They're a run-of-the-mill, Washington DC-based conservative think tank that has been in existence for 50+ years.

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The Heritage Foundation is organizing Project 2025. They most definitely are an extreme right wing group.

Sunnystar said:

Why? Prince Harry brought this on himself by sharing details of his illegal drug use in Spare. Without delving too far into a political discussion, it seems to me that this case would be a great way of highlighting how the DHS is not enforcing the immigration laws already on the books but instead letting anyone into the US who wants in without even a cursory background check. It's not as if Harry's occasional, recreational drug use wasn't known and perhaps warranted a closer investigation if he did indeed omit even THAT information from his visa application.

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If Harry didn't lie on his visa application, & did in fact admit to using drugs, does that mean that someone in US immigration did not follow the rules?

And wouldn't that be an embarrassment for the US authorities? So presumably they don't want that to come out.

But if Harry lied, well that's an entirely different kettle of fish & anyone who's been refused entry to the US for a similar offence would be well within their rights to feel a bit miffed. One law for one & all that.....

Emmily said:

The Heritage Foundation is organizing Project 2025. They most definitely are an extreme right wing group.

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They are linked with the current frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. Project 2025 is scary if one reads between the lines. I agree their interest in Harry is about using him for publicity and getting their name out there. How many other visa applications do they routinely oppose? I expect few or non. In my view this action by the HF is probably a nothing-burger.

The US visa court case involving P.Harry will be an interesting one to follow, hopeful it will be dismissed. It's not as if PHarry is some drug lord trying to set up shop in the US. Regarding the Heritage Foundation, they are currently helmed by Kevin Roberts, an election denier, anti Ukraine supporter just for starters.
Inside the Heritage Foundation’s Plans for ‘Institutionalizing Trumpism’ - The New York Times

I don't think anything Harry put on his visa application is going to matter. No one is going to deport the King's son -- neither the U.S. government nor the British would want that.

I suspect the Heritage Foundation is interested in showing that the INS (and by extension the Biden administration, even though Trump was president when Harry moved here) uses favoritism on immigration issues. Harry's situation is just a high-profile opportunity to do that.

If this foundation is a conservative/Republican supporting organisation that sees Harry as a useful whip with which to beat their ideological opponents then he has only himself to blame.

He chose to insert himself in the last presidential election with his call to register to vote. It was quite obvious which party he & his wife wanted Americans to vote for.

His made rather bizarre remarks on the First Amendment. At a speech at the UN he criticised the rolling back of constitutional rights in the US.

He’s politicised himself.

I agree with the other posters that the Heritage Foundation is using Prince Harry and his visa application for publicity. What is the end game- to have him deported?
As for asking the public to register to vote I think that is a good idea. There is usually a campaign run around elections reminding everyone to register and vote. Everyone should vote and let their voice be heard. I think its hard sometimes to be objective when you have strong opinions about a subject matter and you are trying to get your point across. At some point I think a few others have politicized themselves without maybe meaning to.

I think Billy Idol is a decent comparison to HRH The Duke of Sussex here since he has

1. Admitted to illegal drug use prior to becoming a naturalized citizen of the U.S.
2. Was naturalized as an American citizen anyway (under the last presidency in fact)

So, is the Heritage Foundation going to also demand that Billy Idol's status as a naturalized citizen be revoked because of his drug use? Are they going to presume that Idol also lied on his citizenship application? Are they going to hold the last administration's feet to the fire for allowing "undesirables" to remain in the U.S.?

This is all just chasing windmills. I doubt HRH The Duke of Sussex needs to care, and unless the U.S. federal government is going to search through the background of every visa-holding or naturalized citizen with regards to drug use, they're not going to respond either.

I wouldn't imagine that Heritage expect to win or even care. Their aim is just to use Harry as a battering ram in their own political conflicts.

But it's Harry's own decisions & actions that have made him politically exploitable.

I agree, Harry is a useful target and in some ways has very usefully made himself an easy target for certain political agenda's. Project 2025 is quite a worry.

Asteria12 said:

I agree, Harry is a useful target and in some ways has very usefully made himself an easy target for certain political agenda's. Project 2025 is quite a worry.

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He's an easy target for *any* party's political agenda. Harry's situation reminds me in some ways of the late Duke of Windsor, who also lacked the sophistication and political judgment to see when he was being used, even by Hitler.

Prince Harry has lost a High Court challenge against the government over the level of his security protection when he is in the UK.

shady lady said:

Prince Harry loses High Court challenge over UK security levels

The Duke of Sussex fails to overturn a change to his security when he stopped being a working royal.

www.bbc.co.uk

Prince Harry has lost a High Court challenge against the government over the level of his security protection when he is in the UK.

R (The Duke of Sussex) -v- The Secretary of State for the Home Department - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary

Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 418 (Admin) Case Number: AC/2021/LON/002527 In The High Court Of JusticeKing’s Bench DivisionAdministrative Court 28 February 2024 Before:Mr Justice Lane Between:The King On the application ofThe Duke of Sussex-v-The Secretary of State for the Home Department

www.judiciary.uk

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That was expected. Harry's case against the Home Office was very weak. Is he going to appeal?

Here is the BBC report on the High Court ruling.

A couple articles:

BBC
Prince Harry loses High Court challenge over UK security protection
The Duke of Sussex fails to overturn a ruling which saw his security status downgraded in the UK.
[...]
In the ruling, Sir Peter rejected the Duke's case, finding that there had not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision to downgrade Prince Harry's security status, and that any departure from policy was justified.

It found the decision was not irrational, or procedurally unfair.
[...]
The ruling also found that the "'bespoke' process devised" for Prince Harry by Ravec "was, and is, legally sound".
[...]


The Guardian
Prince Harry loses high court challenge to personal security downgrade
Duke of Sussex fails in legal action against Home Office decision to reduce his security during visits to UK.
[...]
The Home Office said the claim should be dismissed, arguing that Ravec was entitled to determine that the duke’s protection should be “bespoke” and considered on a case-by-case basis.
[...]
The court was told it was “simply incorrect” to suggest there was no evidence that the issue of the impact of an attack was considered.

The high court judge Sir Peter Lane concluded that Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair.

The Home Office welcomed the ruling while Harry’s lawyers said they would appeal.

[...]Lane said Harry’s lawyers had taken “an inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process”.

He said: “The ‘bespoke’ process devised for the claimant in the decision of 28 February 2020 was, and is, legally sound.”

He noted that Ravec’s usual remit covered “risks arising within Great Britain as they affect principals who are in almost every case resident within Great Britain”, and and given their residence in North America “the Duke and Duchess of Sussex do not fit readily within this framework”. He added that Ravec had “commissioned up-to-date threat assessments”.

Lane rejected the duke’s claims that Ravec had failed to follow its policy without good reason, concluding that the policy did not equate to a legal right. [...]He noted there was no “mandatory set of criteria that it applies [...]

He said “ample channels of communication were available to the claimant” and therefore the process was fair and transparent. [...] and challenged his assertion that “private security cannot be effective”.
[...]

ETA: It looks like we were cross-posting.

And the article in The Times.