Prince Harry: Department of Homeland Security facing calls to make royal’s visa application public

You probably remember Spare, the massively controversial memoir by Prince Harry that is widely considered one of the key reasons for his ongoing familial frictions. And we all remember Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to step down as working royals and move to the US. Well, in recent events, these two major moves are combining into a massive headache for the couple.

Certain revelations that were made in Spare are coming back to bite Prince Harry. The Heritage Foundation think tank is stilldemanding that Harry’s visa application be made public. Here's how these two thing are linked, why they are pushing for this, and what experts have said about the unusual case.

Calls for Prince Harry’s visa application to be made public

This all comes down to honesty: was Prince Harry honest in his visa application? You may recall the drama that followed Harry’s revelation in Spare that he had dabbled in substance use—as well as making some cutting remarks about certain family members.

The issue has turned into a court case. Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation, explained:

We at the Heritage Foundation have sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the release of those records because they have refused to operate in a transparent fashion.

Possible visa issues for Prince Harry

When completing the application, you need to tick a box that says whether you have ever taken drugs. Heritage Foundation lawyer Samuel Dewey told the Daily Mail:

This could be very serious for Prince Harry. If he didn't tick the yes box when he entered the States then his visa will be reviewed and it is possible it could be revoked.

He added: ‘It could well be that he ticked the 'yes' box, in which case he would need a waiver to be granted a visa. We are simply asking who granted that waiver.’

Royal expert Tom Quinn added that Prince Harry ‘could be in big trouble with this Visa issue’:

He is so used to living in a world where the normal rules don’t apply to him because he’s a member of the royal family, that it would not have occurred to him when he wrote his book that the revelations about drug-taking could have any implication for his status in the United States.

Opinions on the outcome

To be clear, the purpose of this case is not to determine whether Prince Harry can stay in the US, but rather to decide whether the Department of Homeland Security is obliged to make his visa application public.

When the Heritage Foundation brought the lawsuit against the DHS last year, they stated that this information was of ‘immense public interest’. However, lawyers on behalf of DHS said the Heritage Foundation ‘have not demonstrated possible government misconduct or any other public interest that would overcome Prince Harry’s privacy interest in these records’. They also pointed out that Prince Harry may be a ‘public official’ in the UK, but he is not in the United States.

Judge Carl J. Nichols, who is ruling over the case, is expected to release a written ruling within weeks.

Read more:

⋙ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle banned from using ‘royal’ for their website name

⋙ Kate Middleton: Source explains how she could be key to reconciliation between Princes William and Harry

⋙ Prince Harry and Meghan's new website triggers massive wave of criticism, but they've done nothing wrong

Sources used:

Mirror: Prince Harry faces D-Day court case over secret documents after drug confession

Express: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'losing sleep' over imminent US visa court case