The Queen will NOT help Prince Harry in his demand for Met Police bodyguards

THE Queen will not help Prince Harry in his demand for Met Police bodyguards.

He plans to sue the Government to give him back the protection he lost after quitting royal duties.

But a royal source said: “Her Majesty certainly won’t cave in to his demands.”

And Sun columnist Piers Morgan called him a “shameless, deluded, woefully-entitled hypocrite.”

Harry has been told the Met Police are not “guns for hire” and cannot be treated as a private force for the rich and famous.

It came as he threatened to sue the Government after the Home Office rejected his demands to use their officers.

He is seeking round-the-clock police protection — normally reserved for royals and government officials — when he and his US-based family visit the UK.

But Harry lost the privilege two years ago when he told Her Majesty that he was quitting royal duty to live in California with wife Meghan.

And although he has offered to pay for police bodyguards, insiders insist The Met is not a “private force”.

Last night there were fears that Harry, 37, might take the Government to court as neither side showed signs of giving way.

But the Queen will not be helping her grandson’s fight — thought to be the first legal action of its kind.

A royal source said: “This is not a matter for Her Majesty. She certainly won’t cave in to his demands.

“It is a matter for Her Majesty’s government. Who gets protection is not a gift the Queen can decide to give or take away.”

Another said: “His demands for security in the UK have not been openly or widely discussed within the family because it was thought sorted two years ago.

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“Quite frankly, with the Queen’s health concerns and Prince Andrew facing a sex-abuse trial, a battle between her grandson and the Government is the last thing she wants to get drawn into.”

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said of Harry: “He is a private citizen like the rest of us. You can’t use The Met as a ­private police force — they are not guns for hire.

“When Harry made his decision he wanted out of the protective arm of the Royal Family, he maybe didn’t realise the pitfalls.

“One sympathises but this is the law. He hasn’t thought it through.

“He has always been paranoid about security because he was a serving officer in Afghanistan. But he can’t have it every which way.

“Harry has put himself in this ­situation and he has made his bed and has to sleep in it.

“If he doesn’t think he can bring his family back, then so be it.”

ROUND-THE-CLOCK PROTECTION

The Prince is seeking round-the-clock police protection because his “security was compromised” when he returned to the UK this summer.

His and Meghan’s security was costing taxpayers around £5million a year when they lived in Britain.

They now fund their lifestyle thanks to his multi million-pound Netflix and Spotify deals — and Harry says he would not burden the taxpayer with his policing costs.

But it is understood that government officials refused his demands fearing it would open the door to any wealthy individual to use The Met’s crack team as their private police force.

The decision on who gets bodyguards is made by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, which includes senior civil servants, royal household, senior police officers and security services.

The source said: “Harry wants to pay for police officers but his grandmother’s government disagrees.

“Private individuals cannot just pay for Met Police protection ­— it doesn’t work that way.”

Lawyers acting for the Duke sought a judicial review of the ­decision in September after his whereabouts at a charity event in London’s Kew Gardens with seriously ill children and celebrities, including pop star Ed Sheeran, was made public.

He was photographed leaving the WellChild event on June 30.

It was the day before he was at Kensington Palace with brother William for the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana.

SECURITY RISK

Harry considers himself a security risk for life because he is sixth in line to the throne, and a target from extremist threats because of his two tours of combat in Afghanistan.

It is estimated 24-hour police ­security for Harry’s family would cost him £80,000 a week.

He officially quit royal duty in April 2020. In the US, he, Meghan and children Archie, two, and seven-month-old Lilibet are protected by £7,000-a-day security guards.

In their bombshell US TV interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, Harry and Meghan, 40, moaned that Megxit meant taxpayers would not pay their son Archie’s security

The security row means the family could now be forced to miss the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations this summer.

Meanwhile, Prince Andrew, 61, is understood to maintain his £2million-a-year security even after being stripped of his royal roles by the Queen due to the civil court sex abuse claim against him.

A spokesman for Harry said he first offered to pay for UK police protection at a royal summit on Megxit terms in January 2020.

He added: “The goal for Prince Harry has been simple — to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the UK so his children can know his home country.”