Prince Harry's US visa records released in court after drugs revelations

Documents relating to Prince Harry’s US visa were released in court on Tuesday after he disclosed in his memoir that he had taken drugs.

The duke referred to taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms in his book Spare.

A judge in Washington DC ruled last year that Harry’s US visa application should remain private despite him admitting to taking drugs.

The Heritage Foundation, a Conservative think-tank in the US, brought the lawsuit against the US Department for Homeland Security (DHS) after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was rejected, with the think-tank claiming it was of “immense public interest”.

The think-tank said the public interest should merit the disclosure of his application to enter the country in 2020.

In his ruling in September last year, US Judge Carl Nichols said the public’s interest in disclosure of Harry’s immigration records is “outweighed by the duke’s privacy interest”.

A chief freedom of information officer within the DHS could be seen to argue that releasing the material “would potentially expose the individual to harm from members of the public”.

The declaration, which contained a number of redactions, added: “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.”

A transcript of the private hearing from April 30 last year was disclosed by the court, but 32 out of the 42 pages of the transcript were fully redacted.

The Heritage Foundation alleged the duke may have concealed past illegal drug use that should have disqualified him from obtaining a US visa.

They previously argued answers on Harry’s prior drug use in his visa application should have been disclosed as they could raise questions over the US government’s integrity.

In February, President Donald Trump ruled out deporting Harry from the US, telling The New York Post: “I’ll leave him alone.”

He added: “He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.”

In his controversial memoir, the duke said cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”, adding: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.”