A Court of Appeal judge has told Prince Harry he cannot “jump the queue” ahead of his appeal against a High Court ruling.

The Duke of Sussex was this week granted permission to appeal against a decision made in February that backed the Government’s right to deny him automatic police protection.

Prince Harry had wanted the appeal to be heard by the end of July, partly due to fears that the ruling would influence the approach other countries take to his security.

He started the action after the Home Office decided in February 2020 that he would not automatically receive personal police security while in Britain.

In February, the High Court in London ruled that the decision was lawful and dismissed Harry’s case, and in April refused him permission to challenge that ruling in a higher court.

However, the Court of Appeal has now said it will hear his challenge following a direct application from Harry’s lawyers, who said Harry had been granted permission to appeal.

The Duke had argued that the litigation had already dragged on for two-and-a-half years and said his legal team would be busy with other matters from October.

However, while Lord Justice Bean allowed the appeal, he refused the application to expedite proceedings. The judge said: “It is rightly not suggested that the claimant is entitled to jump the queue because of his status.”

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