A U.S. judge, Carl Nichols, has ruled that the American visa application of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will remain private. This decision comes despite Prince Harry admitting to drug use in his memoir, released in January 2023, where he wrote about using marijuana, cocaine, and psychedelic mushrooms.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which sought to force the U.S. government to disclose Harry’s immigration records. The group aimed to determine if the prince had reported his past drug use in his visa application.
In his ruling on Monday, Judge Nichols stated that “the public does not have a strong interest in the disclosure of the duke’s immigration records,” emphasizing that Prince Harry’s privacy outweighed any public interest. Nichols added that, like any foreign national, Prince Harry has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status.
Prince Harry moved to the U.S. in January 2020 after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, announced they would step back from royal duties.
