Prince Harry brushes off King Charles question as he arrives at court in security battle

Prince surprise appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice in London after secretly travelling to the UK - and brushed off any questions about . It comes as he is set to his security arrangements while visiting the UK.

As Harry arrived at the central London court this morning, he waved as he entered but did not speak to reporters gathered outside. He wore a dark suit with a blue patterned tie and walking through Bell Yard, he did not reply as a reporter asked, "Did you speak to your dad?"

Harry is challenging the dismissal of his High Court legal action against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country.

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It emerged that Harry arrived in the UK just hours before his father, the King, travelled to Italy for a historic state visit. The is said to have landed in London on Sunday, meaning that Harry's time in the UK has overlapped with his father, whom he last saw more than a year ago when it was first announced that the monarch had been diagnosed with cancer. However, it is unknown if the pair met up.

During a previous hearing at the High Court over his security arrangements, it was told that Harry believes his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet cannot "feel at home" in the UK if it is "not possible to keep them safe" there. It has previously been reported that the issue of Harry's security has contributed to the already strained relationship between the Duke and his family. According to Harry's friends, his calls to his father regarding the issue have gone "unanswered", but sources close to have said that it would be "wholly inappropriate" for him to intervene.

Last year, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled that Ravec’s decision, taken in early 2020 after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit as senior working royals, was not irrational or procedurally unfair. The Home Office, which has legal responsibility for the committee’s decisions, is opposing the appeal, with its lawyers previously telling the High Court that decisions were taken on a “case-by-case” basis.

The Court of Appeal hearing before Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis is due to be heard over two days, with a decision expected in writing at a later date. Ravec has delegated responsibility from the Home Office over the provision of protective security arrangements for members of the and others, with involvement from the Metropolitan Police, the Cabinet Office and the royal household.

In February 2020, the body decided that the duke and his family should receive a different degree of taxpayer-funded protection when in the country, after they moved to the US. After Harry took legal action the following year, the High Court heard in 2023 that an offer from Harry to pay for security himself had been refused, with the duke’s lawyers claiming he "does not feel safe" when visiting under the new security arrangements.

Barristers for the Home Office, which is legally responsible for Ravec's decisions, claimed that the committee decided that Harry would not be provided protective security "on the same basis as before" due to him no longer being a working member of the royal family and living abroad most of the time, and that decisions were taken on a "case-by-case" basis.

Sir Peter dismissed Harry’s claim in February last year, and initially denied him permission to challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal. But the appeal court gave him the green light to challenge the decision in June last year, and ordered earlier this month that parts of the hearing concerning "confidential facts" should be held in private, meaning the press and public cannot attend.

Harry's trip to the UK comes amid him being embroiled in a bitter war of words over his African charity Sentebale, which he dramatically quit almost two weeks ago. The orgnaniation is now the subject of a case by the Charity Commission. Harry described the past week’s events, which have included the chairwoman of the Sentebale charity levelling accusations of bullying and harassment in a bid to remove her, as "heartbreaking to witness".

Several trustees have left the charity in a dispute with its chairwoman, Sophie Chandauka, having requested her resignation. Harry and fellow founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho backed the departing trustees and announced they had resigned as patrons until further notice last week.

Meanwhile, Harry's case at the Royal Courts of Justice also coincides with the second day of Charles and Camilla's second day of their state visit to Italy. Today they will watch a flypast of jets from the aerobatic teams of the UK and Italy when their state visit begins in earnest.

Charles and Camilla will be officially welcomed to Italy by the country’s president, Sergio Mattarella, and his daughter Laura Mattarella at his official residence the Quirinale Palace in Rome. During the ceremonial greeting the UK and Italy’s defence co-operation will be marked by a joint flypast over the capital by the Italian air force’s aerobatic team, Frecce Tricolori, and the RAF’s Red Arrows.

The president and the King will hold a private meeting while the statesman’s daughter, who acts as the first lady, will show the Queen a selection of antique books on horsemanship in the Biblioteca del Piffetti and tour the state rooms.

Later the King and Queen, who are making a four-day state visit to Italy which began on Monday, will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Altare della Patria, Rome’s large national monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy.