(File pic) Prince Harry outside the High Court last year during another case (Image: Getty )

Prince Harry’s failed legal challenge against a Home Office decision which denied him the right to automatic police protection has reportedly left the taxpayer with a bill of more than £500,000.

According to a Freedom of Information request by The Telegraph, the Duke of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍’s derailed court action included some dizzying figures including more than £180,000 for counsel, £230,000 for the Government Legal Department, £2,300 in court fees and nearly £10,000 in e-disclosure.

Harry took legal action against the Home Office over the February 2020 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.

Ravec’s decision came as a result of a change in the duke’s “status” after he stopped being a “full-time working member of the Royal Family”, a judge was told.

In a judgment In February, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane rejected the duke’s case in a 52-page ruling and concluded Ravec’s approach was not irrational nor procedurally unfair.