EXCLUSIVE: Inside Prince Harry's 'Utter Terror' After his Court Hearing Exposed Him to Fresh Stalker Horror

RadarOnline.com can reveal Prince Harry was left "terrified" after discovering a known stalker had been sitting just meters behind him during a High Court hearing – an episode that sources say crystallizes his deepest fears about personal security in Britain.

The incident occurred last week while Harry, 41, was attending the opening days of his privacy trial against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail.

The Duke of Sussex, who gave evidence two days into the hearing, was unaware at first a woman on a list of known fixated individuals had taken a seat in the public gallery close behind him on two separate days.

The woman, understood to have mental health issues, was immediately spotted by his private security team, who alerted court officials.

A source close to Harry said the situation left him shaken.

The insider added: "Harry's security team was effectively powerless in that moment. They are not law enforcement, and the High Court is a public space, so unless a crime is being committed there is very little they can do beyond monitoring the situation and alerting court staff."

They added: "Harry lives with a constant level of anxiety about his personal safety, especially when he is in Britain. Discovering just how close she had been left him genuinely shaken and reinforced his fear that, without full protection, he is far more exposed than he should be."

The appearance coincided with an ongoing Home Office-ordered review of the security threat posed to Harry, launched in December.

He last received a full risk assessment in 2019, when he was still a working royal and was categorized at the highest threat level.

Since stepping back from royal duties, he has fought a series of legal battles over the withdrawal of automatic taxpayer-funded police protection.

Harry spent more than two hours on the witness stand, at one point breaking down as he alleged journalists had "made my wife's life an absolute misery."

The royal denied claims he had befriended a Mail on Sunday journalist under a pseudonym or partied with her in Ibiza, insisting his social circle was not "leaky."

The $52million trial continues in his absence.

Security concerns were heightened by the stalker's history.

The woman previously followed Harry to Nigeria, breached a secure zone at a London hotel during the WellChild Awards last September, and was seen days later near him at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies in west London.

Harry returned to the U.S. after the hearing to attend the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Cookie Queens, a coming-of-age documentary on which he and Meghan Markle, 44, are executive producers.

Neil Basu, former head of the UK's counter-terrorism unit, said the situation highlighted the risks Harry faces without armed protection.

He added having a stalker repeatedly appear nearby "must be incredibly anxiety-inducing."

The expert said: "There are clearly people with fixations, and you can never fully know where that fixation will lead until you've assessed that person's state of mind – it might be declarations of undying love and sending roses, or it might be wanting to cause harm."

Basu continued: "If somebody keeps appearing in front of you... Imagine if you were a normal member of the public, you'd be absolutely terrified."

He also said it was "incredibly positive" the Home Office had ordered a new review and argued Harry's threat level was unlikely to have decreased since 2019.

"As one of the most recognizable men on the planet, his threat and risk will be, in my view, the same as it was in 2019. It may even have increased because of the publicity around him," Basu added.

The security issue remains tied to Harry's strained relationship with his father, King Charles, who he claims has the power to help him be granted full royal protection when he and his family are in Britain.

Harry has told the BBC: "I've never asked him to intervene – I've asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their job."

In a witness statement to the High Court during his legal challenge against Britain's Home Office over the issue, he said: "The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the U.S.

"That cannot happen if it's not possible to keep them safe when they are on U.K. soil. I cannot put my wife in danger like that and, given my experiences in life, I am reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm's way too."