The past drug use that Prince Harry detailed in his memoir should lead to the release of his immigration paperwork, a conservative American think tank said in a Washington court on Tuesday.
The hearing played out, coincidently, as the Duke of Sussex testified in London in another lawsuit he filed against British newspapers.
In Washington, US District Judge Carl Nichols told the Heritage Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security to work on the speed of the response, and he would rule if they could not reach an agreement on their own.
Prince Harry moved to Southern California with his wife Meghan and their young family in 2020, after they left royal life and embarked on new projects, including the release of his memoir Spare in January.
The book’s myriad revelations included an exploration of the prince's grief after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, disputes with his brother William and his past drug use.
Prince Harry said he took cocaine several times, starting at about the age of 17, “to feel. To be different".
He also acknowledged using cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
The US routinely asks about drug use on its visa applications, and it has been linked to travel headaches for celebrities including chef Nigella Lawson, singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss.
But acknowledgement of past drug use does not necessarily bar people from entering or staying in the country.
With that history in mind, the conservative Heritage Foundation sent a public-information request to the Department of Homeland Security for Prince Harry’s immigration records.
They say there is “intense public interest” in whether Prince Harry received special treatment during the application process.
The politically conservative group also linked those questions to wider immigration issues in the US, including at the border with Mexico.
The request has largely been denied since the group does not have Prince Harry's permission to obtain the private information.
“A person's visa status is confidential,” said John Bardo, a lawyer for the Department of Homeland Security.
The agency's policy does allow the release of information about issues of public interest, but the agency said media coverage of how Prince Harry's drug use connects to his visa status in the US has not been widely covered by mainstream American publications.
The questions raised, meanwhile, are not the kind of important queries about possible government misdeeds that warrant the quick processing for which the Heritage Foundation is asking, federal lawyers said.
Privacy is also at the centre of the lawsuit Prince Harry filed against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, which was the subject of his testimony in London on Tuesday.
