A heavily redacted set of court documents related to Prince Harry’s US visa has been released, with his exact immigration status withheld due to concerns that disclosure could lead to
harassment.
The release was ordered by Judge Carl Nichols following a Freedom of Information (FoI) request from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. The organization sought access to Harry’s visa records, arguing that he may have failed to disclose past drug use—a factor that could have disqualified him from obtaining a US visa.
Under US immigration law, visa applicants must disclose any past or current drug use, which can result in application rejections. However, immigration officers retain discretion in making final decisions based on various factors.
Privacy concerns override public interest
Despite the request, Prince Harry’s actual visa application remains undisclosed. The redacted documents, released on Tuesday, emphasized that public interest did not outweigh the need to protect his privacy.
“To release his exact status could subject him to reasonably foreseeable harm in the form of harassment as well as unwanted contact by the media and others,” the documents stated.
It further noted: “There is the potential of harm in the form of harassment if his exact [REDACTED] is revealed. Thus, there are significant privacy interests involved in the records. Plaintiffs have not established public interest, as defined by the FOIA, in disclosure of the records.”
The court also dismissed claims that Harry may have received preferential treatment when applying for his visa, stating that speculation alone did not constitute evidence of government misconduct.
Prince Harry’s past drug use
The request for Harry’s visa records was driven by revelations in his memoir Spare, where he openly discussed past drug use.
In the book, he admitted to trying cocaine at 17:
“At someone’s house, during a shooting weekend, I was offered a line, and I’d done a few more since. It wasn’t much fun, and it didn’t make me particularly happy, as it seemed to make everyone around me, but it did make me feel different, and that was the main goal. Feel. Different. I was a deeply unhappy 17-year-old boy willing to try almost anything that would alter the status quo.”
He also described using marijuana at Eton, recalling how he and others smoked in a tiny bathroom before watching Family Guy and laughing uncontrollably.
Additionally, Harry shared his experience with magic mushrooms at a party hosted by Friends star Courteney Cox in Los Angeles. He wrote about hallucinating that a pedal bin was a talking head, saying:
“I stepped on the pedal and the head opened its mouth. A huge open grin. I laughed.”
Harry’s life in the US
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, relocated to California in 2020 after a brief stay in Canada. Their move followed their decision to step down as senior royals and leave the UK.
Despite speculation over his visa status, the newly released documents make it clear that his immigration records will remain private, with officials citing the potential for harm and harassment if further details were disclosed. Photo by DoD News Features, Wikimedia commons.