Prince Harry US visa update as bid to gain access to key document collapses

A major bid to uncover Prince Harry's US visa documents has been denied, reports claim.

By Victoria Chessum, Assistant News Editor, Lauren Welch, Royal Reporter based in London

Prince Harry

Prince Harry's US visa application remains under lock and key for now (Image: Getty)

A Conservative think-tank has been knocked back after trying to bid for access to the Duke of Sussex's US visa application, it has been claimed.

Taking to X, TalkTV tweeted: "A Conservative think tank has failed in its bid to gain access to the Duke of Sussex’s US visa application after questioning why he was allowed into the country following references to taking drugs in his memoir, court documents show."

In his memoir, Spare, Harry admits to extensive use of cocaine, marijuana and magic mushrooms. The 40-year-old wrote: "I'd experimented with them over the years, for fun, but now I'd begun to use them therapeutically."

Speaking of cocaine, he wrote: "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."

As reported by GB News, US judge Carl Nichols said:"The public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke’s immigration records".

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The judgment added: "Like any foreign national, the duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status."

The lawsuit was brought by The Heritage Foundation against the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) after a Freedom of Information Act request was rejected. The think tank claimed that it was of "immense public interest".

However, Judge Nichols has said that the public’s interest in the Duke of Sussex’s immigration records is "outweighed by the duke’s privacy interest".

Speaking of Harry, the judge said: "Public disclosure of records about a single admission of a foreign national in the circumstances described above would provide the public, at best, limited information about the department’s general policy in admitting aliens.

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Prince Harry admitted to his past drug use in his memoir Spare (Image: GETTY)

"And the marginal public benefit of knowing that limited information is outweighed by the privacy interest the duke retains in his immigration status and records."

Prince Harry arrived in New York on Sunday for a visit supporting his patronages and causes he cares deeply about.

Earlier today, Harry took to the stage for a Diana Award event in Manhattan as part of the 14th Concordia Annual Summit.

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