Prince Harry may have lied to sell copies of his memoir 'Spare', which is "not proof he took drugs", a lawyer for the Joe Biden administration said. It came as a court started hearing a case to compel the US authorities to release the Duke of Sussex's visa application due to accusations of his unlawful drug usage, as per a report in the New York Post.
The 39-year-old Prince acknowledged using cocaine, marijuana, and psychedelic mushrooms in his best-selling book which was released in 2023, but attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security said he could have fabricated the information to make his book more appealing to the followers of the Royal family.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been under fire from the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation for months, claiming that the documents need to be released due to revelations made by the Duke of Sussex in his memoir. As per the Telegraph, they argued that the Duke of Sussex's previous drug usage should have prohibited him from entering the United States under federal law and that disclosing his application is in the "immense public interest."
However, John Bardo, a DHS lawyer, stated that releasing the paperwork would be "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. Courts consistently hold that a person's visa or immigration status is private, personal information exempt from disclosure," the lawyer argued.
Nile Gardiner, the Director of the Heritage Foundation, stated that the Duke's application privacy is "preposterous" since it "really matters to Americans." "This case raises many issues as two whether or not people are given any special treatment in coming to the United States and whether or not the rule of law is applied equally," he said.
He added, "The issue of migration in the United States has become the number one issue in the presidential election. The American people expect their leader to enforce immigration law strictly and this should apply to anyone entering the US including royals like Prince Harry."
Mr Gardiner argued that Prince Harry has "never denied anything in his own book," and there are only three ways through which he entered the country- either by lying on an immigration form about taking drugs, applying for a waiver or entering on a diplomatic visa. Mr Bardo stated there's a "high probability" that the Prince arrived using a diplomatic visa. "He's still a member of the British Royal family and has the title Duke of Sussex... he's still a government official in the UK by his birth and title," he said.
The Heritage Foundation, however, disregarded this, stating that it would be "absurd" for him to have entered on a diplomat's visa as "the whole world knows he's not a working royal."
Recently, Prince Harry said that he has considered becoming an American citizen, four years after he and his wife, Meghan Markle announced they would end their royal duties and move to the US. "It's a thought that has crossed my mind but it's not a high priority for me right now," he told Good Morning America.
However, it is to be noted that any application would require Prince Harry to surrender his title, under US Citizenship and Immigration Services rules. The US immigration policy mentions that "any applicant who has any titles of heredity or positions of nobility in any foreign state must renounce the title or the position."
