Many of us believe that Prince Harry and his recent actions could fairly be described as ‘frankly hopeless’. Now, a High Court judge can be added to their number. Mr Justice Lane has dismissed Harry’s appeal against an earlier judgement that he was not entitled to automatic police protection when he moved abroad. The latest court documents, released yesterday, do not make happy reading for the Duke of Sussex.

The legacy of Spare is never far away

The judge has ordered Harry to pay 90 per cent of the government’s costs in the court case (well over £500,000, apparently) and has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Duke and his legal team. Not only did Mr Justice Lane remind Harry that his original case was ‘comprehensively lost’ and ‘failed on all of the pleaded grounds’, but he went on to damn the appeal that his lawyers had put together. He remarked that it relied upon ‘a great deal of unsupported speculation’, and that it continued to ‘[display] precisely the same kind of errors’ that the original application had demonstrated, such as a ‘formalistic’ and ‘inappropriate’ attitude towards the submission. The judge concluded – and it is possible to hear his exasperation here – that: ‘There are no ‘other compelling reasons’ for an appeal to be heard.’

This withering verdict is, of course, unlikely to stop the clown prince. Harry is now considering heading to the Court of Appeal, so that his lawyers can charge him yet greater sums and so that he can be humiliated all over again. It did not help that it emerged this week that Harry emailed confidential details of the case to his buddy, the Tory MP Johnny Mercer, which has resulted in his having to apologise.

The overall impression given is that the Duke has focused upon this ‘frankly hopeless’ case as the hill on which he is determined to die on, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to carry on the ‘comprehensively lost’ campaign. For someone who has served in the military, and should know the importance of a tactical retreat when faced with overwhelming odds, Harry has once again demonstrated that his pride and arrogance trump any kind of good sense.

As usual, his actions have brought embarrassment upon his family and his name, but if Prince Harry had an ounce of common sense and compassion, he might take a moment to consider whether his vanity has overtaken him. His sister-in-law and father are both suffering from cancer, and the royal family are currently facing a reputational crisis brought on by the continued disgrace of the Duke of York, which the recent Netflix drama Scoop served to remind us all of once more.

The year 2024 has, so far, been an annus horribilis for the royals. What all of those around the royals can only pray for is that, after a truly ghastly first few months, matters settle down and that business as usual can resume in the second half of the year. Yet while Harry continues to spend his Netflix and Spotify millions on ill-fated and hubris-laden court cases, there will always be the ongoing reminder of the disastrous events that have befallen ‘the Firm’ over the past few years; the legacy of Spare is never far away.

Still, there is one small upside. It was announced recently that his wife will be featuring in a new Netflix series, no doubt designed to coincide with her new America Riviera Orchard brand, and that the show will ‘celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining and friendship’. It will not be filmed in their Montecito home, but in another rented property nearby, meaning that, as the Duke pores over yet another legal submission, he will not have to contend with a Netflix camera crew dogging his every move. He must be thankful for small mercies; the rest of us might suggest that it is time for him, and his wife, to consider gracefully backing out of the spotlight before this frankly hopeless duo test our patience one time too many.