Prince Harry Says Al-Qaeda Made a Murderous Threat Against Him After His Royal Step Down, Stripped Security

Prince Harry shared new details about his safety risks — including an alleged threat from Al-Qaeda — while fighting to restore his protection in the U.K.

Harry, 40, alleged during his two-day hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice last week that the terrorist group threatened to kill him shortly after he and wife Meghan Markle stepped back from their senior royal roles in 2020.

Harry “confirmed that he had requested certain protection after a threat was made against him by al Qaida [sic],” according to a summary of the closed session obtained by People and Hello! on Friday, April 18.

The prince’s lawyer Shaheed Fatima backed up Harry’s claims, telling the court that the terrorist organization called for the royal “to be murdered” once his security was downgraded in 2020.

The barrister added that the Duke of Sussex’s security team learned Al-Qaeda published a message saying his “assassination would please the Muslim community.”

In addition to being a royal and public figure, Harry’s military service seemingly made him a target for Al-Qaeda. Harry served two tours in Afghanistan with the British Army. He later detailed his time with the military in his memoir, Spare, which extremist groups noticed.

Harry’s alleged death threat was just part of his case for the U.K. restoring his automatic police protection while traveling in his home country. His legal team argued that the U.K.’s choice to strip his security when Harry and Meghan, 43, moved to the U.S. without any formal risk assessment put him in grave danger.

“One must not forget the human dimension of this case. There is a person who is sitting behind me whose safety, whose security and whose life is at stake,” Harry’s lawyer said in a statement on April 9, during day two of the proceedings. “There is a person sitting behind me who’s been told he is getting a special bespoke process when he knows in his experience it is a process that is manifestly inferior in every sense.”

The attorney continued, “His presence here and throughout this appeal is a potent demonstration of how much this appeal means to him and his family.”

Following the April 9 hearing, Harry told People as he left the court he was “exhausted and overwhelmed” by the process. He confessed that his “worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case and that’s really sad.”

Harry and Meghan announced their royal step back in January 2020. They later relocated from the U.K. to the U.S. where they settled in California with their son, Prince Archie. The family’s security was pulled by Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) that March after it was determined their choice to live private lives didn’t “fit readily” into the organization’s framework.

One year later, the couple welcomed their daughter, Princess Lilibet, in June 2021. Although Harry and Meghan have since returned to the U.K. for visits, they’ve made it clear bringing the children is a security concern.

Harry’s attorney Shaheed Fatima told London courts in February 2022 that he “does not feel safe” traveling to the U.K. with his children. “It should go without saying that he wants to come back: to see family and friends and to continue to support the charities that are so close to his heart. Most of all, this is, and always will be, his home,” the lawyer said at the time.

Harry initially attempted to get his security detail reinstated in January 2022 by appealing for judicial review. The U.K.’s high court ruled against him in 2024, leading the prince to appeal the verdict this year. He was on hand for both April hearing dates.