The US State Department is set to release a significant number of documents related to a legal dispute concerning Prince Harry’s US visa records. The Duke of Sussex has been involved in a controversy since last year when a conservative Washington DC think tank, the Heritage Foundation, requested the public release of his visa application documents following his revelations about past drug use in his memoir, Spare.
Despite Harry’s privacy rights over his visa application being upheld by the courts, the Heritage Foundation has initiated a new case against the US State Department to push for the disclosure of additional documents concerning the prince. A total of 307 documents consisting of 2,487 pages underwent review, and the initial batch of files is scheduled for release by the end of July following months of processing by officials.
The Mirror reached out to representatives of the Duke of Sussex and the Heritage Foundation for comments. The US State Department declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. The Heritage Foundation aims to uncover evidence in the released documents to support their claims that Harry received preferential treatment from the US government during his visa application process.
Harry and Meghan Markle permanently moved to the United States in 2020 after stepping down from their royal duties. Heritage’s legal team argued that Harry either failed to disclose his past drug use in his visa application or was granted favorable treatment. In his autobiography Spare, Harry admitted to using drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, magic mushrooms, and ayahuasca, questioning his eligibility to enter the US.
A joint court filing by Heritage and the State Department in June stated that the first production of responsive records is expected by the end of July 2026, with subsequent releases every eight weeks. This development could provide insights into how Harry is perceived within the US government and shed light on the contents of his visa application.
The upcoming document release follows a ruling in September 2024 by US District Judge Carl Nichols, who initially found no strong public interest in disclosing Harry’s immigration records, a decision challenged by the Heritage Foundation. The organization criticized the Biden administration for allegedly protecting Prince Harry and undermining public trust in immigration law enforcement.
Remarkably, former US President Donald Trump expressed in a 2024 GB News interview with Nigel Farage that Harry should not receive special treatment. Trump emphasized the importance of verifying Harry’s claims in his visa application and taking appropriate action if deception was found.
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