Access to Prince Harry’s U.S. visa application will be the subject of debate in a Washington court next week as a conservative think tank is demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) take its freedom of information request seriously.
The Heritage Foundation has actively lobbied in Washington D.C. to have the royal’s visa application made public to see if he informed immigration officials about his history of drug use, which he later revealed in his 2023 memoir, Spare.
Applicants for entry or residency in the U.S. are requested to disclose personal violations of laws relating to the possession, use or distribution of illegal drugs. Those who do so can potentially be denied entry at border control or denied residency.
So far, the DHS has refused the request to provide the Heritage Foundation with the prince’s immigration paperwork. On June 6 a federal judge will hear arguments from both the Heritage Foundation and the DHS in Washington D.C. over whether the government should turn over the documents.
James Devaney/GC Images
Director of The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, Mike Howell, who filed the initial request to view Harry’s visa application, previously told the Daily Mail that: “This request is in the public interest in light of the potential revocation of Prince Harry’s visa for illicit substance use and further questions regarding the prince’s drug use and whether he was properly vetted before entering the United States.”
The move came after Harry discussed his recreational use of cocaine, marijuana and psychedelics such as magic mushrooms and ayahuasca in his memoir, as well as interviews promoting the book.
Billed as a “raw” and “unflinching” account of his life story, the prince said he wrote the book not as the “prince” he was born but as the “man” he has become, covering all aspects of his life, including his triumphs and mistakes.
The royal faced both praise and criticism for his book and the revelations he made in it. Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, a British-based drugs education advocate, said that the royal’s comments, particularly on using drugs to deal with trauma, could be “easily misconstrued.”
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Exclusive polling undertaken for Newsweek on April 4, three months after Spare‘s release, revealed that though the American public believed Harry was right to include details of his history with drugs, over half wanted his visa application reviewed as a result.
Asked “Given his admission in his book Spare that he previously consumed drugs, should Prince Harry’s visa application be reviewed by the Department of Homeland Security?” 54 percent of U.S. adults from a sample of 1,500 registered voters said “yes,” while 29 percent said “no” and 17 percent “don’t know.”
Similarly, of those asked: “Was Prince Harry right to reveal details of his personal drug use in his book Spare?” 51 percent of respondents said “yes” against just 19 percent who said “no” and 30 percent who responded “don’t know.”
In a statement on May 30, The Heritage Foundation explained, per the Evening Standard: “The American people deserve answers to the serious questions raised by the evidence. Did DHS in fact look the other way, play favorites, or fail to appropriately respond to any potential false statements by Prince Harry?”
The June 6 hearing will be presided over by Judge Carl J. Nichols.
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Prince Harry via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you.