Prince Harry asked for specific security protection after receiving a threat from Al Qaeda, court documents have revealed. The Duke of Sussex was back in the UK last week to attend a two-day hearing of his appeal against a High Court ruling regarding the level of security he should receive when visiting Britain, funded by the British taxpayer.

He believes that he, as well as his wife, Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, face a significant threat from extremists, with evidence from court revealing: “The Appellant confirmed that he had requested certain protection after a threat was made against him by Al Qaeda .” The duke is challenging the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the 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. Last year, High Court judge Sir Peter Lane ruled that Ravec’s decision, taken in early 2020 after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit as senior working royals, was not irrational or procedurally unfair.

The Home Office, which has legal responsibility for Ravec’s decisions, is opposing the appeal, with its lawyers previously telling the High Court that decisions were taken on a “case-by-case” basis.

Harry has previously said he faces a greater risk than his late mother, with “additional layers of racism and extremism”.

He believes his family faces an “international threat” and has already highlighted that Al Qaeda had called for him to be killed.

In written submissions as part of Harry’s appeal, parts of which were redacted for confidentiality reasons, Shaheed Fatima KC, for the duke, said Ravec ruled in 2020 that “there is no basis for publicly funded security support for the duke and duchess within Great Britain”.

After the decision, Al Qaeda called for Harry “to be murdered”, and his security team was informed that the terrorist group had published a document which said his “assassination would please the Muslim community”, Ms Fatima said.

Last week, Ms Fatima told the appeal hearing that the duke had been “singled out for different, unjustified and inferior treatment”, adding that Harry “does not accept that ‘bespoke’ means ‘better’.”

They were later told during the so-called “Sandringham summit”, which aimed to agree the terms of their new role, that they would not be able to retain the full-time police protection.

Such protection is currently granted to the King and Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children.

Ravec’s final decision, shared on February 28 2020, stated that Metropolitan Police protection would no longer be appropriate after the Sussexes’ departure, and that they should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.

The Sussexes would instead receive a “bespoke” security service. They would be required to give 30 days’ notice of any plans to travel to the UK, and each visit would be assessed for threat levels and whether protection is needed.

A decision on the duke’s appeal is expected in writing at a later date.