WASHINGTON (AP) — Court filings released on Tuesday shed little new light on the circumstances surrounding Prince Harry’s entry into the United States, marking the latest development in a legal battle by a conservative group seeking to uncover whether he was truthful about past drug use on his immigration forms.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded to a request from U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols by stating that the records have been “withheld in full” and are considered “categorically exempt from disclosure.” The dispute revolves around Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and the son of King Charles III, entering the U.S. when he and his wife Meghan Markle moved to Southern California in 2020. The Heritage Foundation filed a lawsuit after DHS mostly rejected its Freedom of Information Act request for Harry’s records. Harry himself is not involved in the lawsuit.
The Heritage Foundation has argued that there is significant public interest in knowing whether Harry received special treatment during the application process, especially following revelations in his 2023 memoir “Spare” about his past drug use. Shari Suzuki, an official handling Freedom of Information Act requests for DHS and Customs and Border Protection, mentioned that Harry has not given consent for his records to be made public.
In “Spare,” Harry admitted to using cocaine several times starting at the age of 17, along with cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms. He described the experience as not particularly enjoyable, but it made him feel different – which was his main goal. The U.S. immigration process typically inquires about drug use in visa applications, a question that has caused complications for celebrities like chef Nigella Lawson, singer Amy Winehouse, and model Kate Moss.
During a February hearing, Judge Nichols expressed the challenge of balancing transparency in the DHS statements with the need for redaction to ensure privacy. He noted that excessive redactions could render the documents meaningless by leaving only names or dates visible.
Overall, the legal battle continues as the Heritage Foundation presses for the release of Prince Harry’s immigration records, aiming to address concerns about potential special treatment and the accuracy of information provided on his forms. The public interest in this case remains substantial, as the court works to navigate the delicate balance between transparency and privacy.