Prince Harry arrives at court after flying into London solo 

It’s believed that he arrived in the British captital on Sunday, just hours before his father, King Charles, jetted off to Italy with his wife Queen Camilla for their four-day state visit.

According to The Sun, it is unknown if the pair met up while on British soil.

He arrived at the central London court on Tuesday morning for a two-day hearing, and was photographed waving as he entered. He looked smart dressed in a navy suit, a crisp white shirt and a patterned blue tie. 

The Duke, 40, took legal action against the Home Office over the February 2020 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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The Government said Harry’s claim should be dismissed, arguing that Ravec – which falls under the Home Office’s remit – was entitled to conclude the duke’s protection should be “bespoke” and considered on a “case-by-case” basis.

The High Court was told that the decision was made as a result of a change in the duke’s “status” after he stopped being a “full-time working member of the royal family”.

In a judgment in February last year, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected Harry’s case and concluded Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair.

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In his 52-page partially redacted ruling, Sir Peter said Harry’s lawyers had taken “an inappropriate, formalist interpretation of the Ravec process”.

In written submissions to the Court of Appeal,  Shaheed Fatima KC said: “This appeal concerns the most fundamental right: to safety and security of person.” 

She continued: “On January 8 2020, (the Duke of Sussex) and his wife felt forced to step back from the role of full-time official working members of the royal family as they considered they were not being protected by the institution, but they wished to continue their duties in support of the late Queen as privately funded members of the royal family.” 

Opening the Duke of Sussex’s case at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, his barrister Shaheed Fatima KC said: “When Ravec made its February 2020 decision about the appellant’s protective security, it did not apply its own terms of reference to that decision-making process.” 

She continued to say Ravec did not get an assessment from an “expert specialist body called the risk management board, or the RMB” and came up with a “different and so-called ‘bespoke process'”. 

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She said: “The appellant does not accept that ‘bespoke’ means ‘better’. In fact, in his submission, it means that he has been singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment.

“Not only does this bespoke process not involve the RMB, it also involves Ravec considering the reason why the appellant is attending a particular event, even though that is plainly irrelevant to the question of security.”

Ms Fatima added: “The appellant’s case is not that he should automatically be entitled to the same protection as he was previously given when he was a working member of the royal family.

“The appellant’s case is that he should be considered under the terms of reference and subject to the same process as any other individual being considered for protective security by Ravec, unless there is a cogent reason to the contrary.” 

Harry’s case at the Royal Courts of Justice also coincides with Charles and Camilla’s state visit to Italy. The pair landed in Rome on Monday afternoon, and are expected to carry out a series of engagements over the next few days.

A highlight of the trip is likely to be a glittering black tie State Banquet, hosted by President Mattarella at the Quirinale on the King and Queen’s 20th wedding anniversary on 9 April.

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They will also visit the Colosseum, where the bands of the Welsh Guards and the Italian Granatieri di Sardegna will play together, after a flypast by the RAF’s Red Arrows and their Italian counterparts the Frecce Tricolori.

In Ravenna, the King and Queen will commemorate 80 years since British and Canadian armed forces helped to liberate the city from Nazi occupation.

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They will sample local delicacies with a British twist, including parmesan and whisky pairings, at a festival celebrating the Slow Food movement in Emilia-Romagna. The King will meet farmers who have been affected by recent flooding, while the Queen will meet representatives from a local domestic violence charity.

The royal visitors will also celebrate literary culture by visiting Dante’s tomb, and the Queen will make a solo trip to the Byron museum.