United Kingdom’s broadsheet, The Daily Mail, has disclosed that Prince Harry has updated his records in the country to make clear that he no longer lives in Britain.
It would be recalled that soon after announcing his and Meghan’s decision to quit royal duties in 2020, the Duke of Sussex declared at a charity event: ‘The UK is my home and a place that I love. That will never change.’
Four years later, much, this has changed.
Filings published by Companies House today for ‘Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex’ record that his ‘New Country/State Usually Resident’ is now the USA. It was previously recorded as the United Kingdom.
The change comes as pressure increases on US President Joe Biden’s government to release Harry’s visa records after campaigners seized on comments made by the American ambassador to London that he would not be deported while the Democrat was president.
The conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington DC, which has gone to court to seek the release of the file, has submitted the remarks made by Jane Hartley as part of its case.
The new details, filed at Companies House for Harry’s eco-travel venture Travalyst, also raise serious questions about whether he can remain as a Counsellor of State, one of seven members of the Royal Family who can deputise for the Monarch if he is abroad or unwell.
By law, Counsellors of State are required to have a UK domicile, but Harry has no home here after King Charles asked the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to vacate Frogmore Cottage, a gift from the late Queen Elizabeth.
Dr Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law, said last year: ‘We are really in uncharted waters here: the Prince Harry situation is not something the law easily allows for.
‘The idea of the second son of the King choosing a life away from royal duties is not something the law has thought about, and I can imagine that Buckingham Palace would be concerned by that.
The King had the chance to remove him with the counsellor-of-state legislation last year, but chose not to.’
Until 2022, the Counsellors of State were Queen Camilla, Prince William, Harry, Prince Andrew and his elder daughter Princess Beatrice.
However, many considered this situation unsuitable as Harry, the Duke of York and Beatrice are not working royals.
Later that year, the King asked parliament to add his sister, Princess Anne, and youngest brother, Prince Edward, to the list.
It was reported that the King decided not to remove Harry and Andrew because he did not want to escalate family tensions and believed it was unlikely either would ever be required to deputise for him.
However, last year courtiers were keen to ensure that William returned to Britain from a solo trip to New York before the King and Queen departed for their state visit to France on the same day.
The situation has since become even more urgent because of the King’s cancer treatment.
