Prince Harry Appeals the Loss of His UK Security Detail 

Britain's Prince Harry speaks during a high level event sponsored by Lesotho at UN headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP)
Britain's Prince Harry speaks during a high level event sponsored by Lesotho at UN headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP)
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Prince Harry Appeals the Loss of His UK Security Detail 

Britain's Prince Harry speaks during a high level event sponsored by Lesotho at UN headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP)
Britain's Prince Harry speaks during a high level event sponsored by Lesotho at UN headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP)

Prince Harry wants his British security detail restored and is taking his case to an appeals court.

Harry, whose titles include the Duke of Sussex, lost his government-funded protection in February 2020 after he stepped down from his role as a working member of the royal family and moved to the US.

His lawyer is scheduled to challenge a lower court ruling Tuesday at the Court of Appeal in London.

A High Court judge ruled last year that a government panel’s decision to provide “bespoke” security for Harry on an as-needed basis was not unlawful, irrational or unjustified.

Harry had claimed he and his family are endangered when visiting his homeland because of hostility aimed at him and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on social media and through relentless hounding by news media.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, has bucked royal family convention by taking the government and tabloid press to court, where he has a mixed record.

He lost a related court case in which he sought permission to privately pay for a police detail when in the UK, but a judge denied that offer after a government lawyer argued officers shouldn’t be used as “private bodyguards for the wealthy.”

He also dropped a libel case against the publisher of the Daily Mail for an article that said he had tried to hide his efforts to continue receiving government-funded security.

But he won a significant victory at trial in 2023 against the publisher of the Daily Mirror when a judge found that phone hacking at the tabloid was “widespread and habitual.”

He claimed a “monumental” victory in January when Rupert Murdoch’s UK tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

He has a similar case pending against the publisher of the Mail.



Orange-Clad Crowds Cram into to Dutch Cities to Celebrate King Willem-Alexander’s Birthday

People celebrate King's Day in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP)
People celebrate King's Day in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP)
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Orange-Clad Crowds Cram into to Dutch Cities to Celebrate King Willem-Alexander’s Birthday

People celebrate King's Day in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP)
People celebrate King's Day in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Saturday, April 26, 2025. (AP)

Across the Netherlands, people donned orange clothes — from tuxedos to feather boas — and boats packed with revelers clogged Amsterdam's canals to celebrate their king's birthday Saturday.

In an Amsterdam park, a dog called Lucy sported orange-dyed fur.

“I love it. It’s a day where every year everyone just comes together, just celebrates and it doesn’t matter where you’re from everyone is just accepted," said 22-year-old Dicky van Warmerdam. "And if you look around, it’s just a giant party and who doesn’t want that?”

The official royal walkabout by King Willem-Alexander and family members in the eastern town of Doetinchem started an hour later than planned so as not to clash with the funeral at the Vatican of Pope Francis.

In a video message, Willem-Alexander said the day of Dutch celebration “has two faces” due to the pope's funeral, and paid tribute to Francis.

“For many Catholics and non-Catholics, he was a source of inspiration,” the king said.

The king's 58th birthday is on Sunday, but King's Day was held a day earlier.

The celebrations began Friday night with street markets in the central city of Utrecht and parties in other towns and cities.

By Saturday afternoon, some canals in the Dutch capital were crammed with boats, the water sometimes barely visible through the throngs of people and clouds of orange smoke from flares.

In a message on social media, Amsterdam Municipality said parts of the city were “too full” and urged people not to visit Amsterdam and “celebrate King's Day somewhere else.” Other cities also reported that events were overcrowded.

In Amsterdam's Vondel Park, children spread out blankets and sold unwanted toys, clothes and books in one of the many “free markets” that spring up on sidewalks and parks.

And it wasn't just the Dutch who were celebrating in Amsterdam.

“It is a great moment for togetherness, to be with friends, you know, ... to make new connections," said 23-year-old Lorenzo Soldi from Italy.