Prince Harry 'wins fight for tax-funded armed police protection in Britain'

He then wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in September in search of a review.

Then in December, the department requested a new risk assessment on the threat posed to the Duke in Britain.

Home Office sources have now told the Mail that he has won his new fight for a publicly-funded security detail.

They said the reinstatement of Harry's armed police escort has been assured after the fresh risk assessment was carried out for the royal and VIP executive committee (Ravec).

According to the Mail, Ravec's risk management board members have now decided that the Duke does meet the threshold for protection.

Ravec now has little choice but to approve his request.

"The only thing that could scupper his approval now would be an intervention from the Palace," a source said on Saturday.

The Prince's recent demand for armed protection follows a double run-in with a stalker - but before then, he has consistently argued that Britain is not safe for him and his family to visit without it.

Harry was given police protection for one day on a trip to the UK in September for the Diana Awards - the day after he met the King at Clarence House.

A female stalker who had previously made threats online was able to access a secure zone at the awards.

The Duke was reported to have been left feeling "abandoned" when, two days later, the same woman made her way to within "a stone's throw" of him.

One of Harry's private staff, an Army veteran, stepped in to protect him.

That incident was included as evidence which was given to the risk management board which advises Ravec.

In the December letter, he asked Ravec, part of the Home Office, to "abide by its own rules" - that the risk management board should assess each member of the Royal Family every year.

Harry's last risk assessment was carried out in 2020 before the review last month.

Ravec includes security officials from the Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Household, who work together to advise an independent chairman on who should be protected.

The Home Office has legal responsibility for the committee's decision, and successfully opposed the Duke's appeal last May.

Officially, both the family and the British Government have not commented on last night's development.

A spokesman for the Sussexes said: "We can't comment on security matters."

A Government spokesman said: "The UK Government's protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.

"It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals' security."