Case Against Prince Harry’s Visa Brought By Right-Wing Think Tank Has Been Closed

The conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security over Prince Harry’s visa status has been closed.

The lawsuit was closed on Monday after multiple sealed orders were filed and heard by a judge. No information is yet available on why the lawsuit was closed or the status of Prince Harry’s visa papers.

In May 2023, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that demanded Prince Harry’s visa documents upon the news that he had indulged in recreational drugs in the past. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry came forward about his experience with cocaine, weed and mushrooms. 

Harry recalled the experience in his book, “At someone’s house, during a hunting weekend, I was offered a line, and since then, I had consumed some more…It wasn’t very fun, and it didn’t make me feel especially happy as seemed to happen to others, but it did make me feel different, and that was my main objective. To feel. To be different.”

The Heritage Foundation argued that Harry’s use of drugs should automatically terminate his visa.

In another filing, government lawyers argued they “cannot confirm or deny whether any other records that [Heritage] are seeking exist because the mere acknowledgment of these records would constitute an unwarranted invasion of Prince Harry’s privacy. The records are particularly sensitive because releasing them, even in part, would reveal Prince Harry’s status in the United States, which Prince Harry has not disclosed.”

Now that the case has been dropped, it is doubtful that any documents will ever be released to the public.

Harry has found life in the U.S. challenging. He has seen an exodus of staffers from his foundation due to difficult working conditions.