Prince Harry’s US visa application should remain private despite him admitting taking drugs in his memoir, a judge has ruled.

The Duke of Sussex’s reference to taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms in his book Spare prompted a conservative Washington think tank to question why he was allowed into the US in 2020.

In his ruling seen in court documents on Monday (local time), US judge Carl Nichols said “the public does not have a strong interest in disclosure of the duke’s immigration records”.

“Like any foreign national, the duke has a legitimate privacy interest in his immigration status,” he said.

“The duke’s public statements about his travel and drug use did not disclose, and therefore did not eliminate, his interest in keeping private, specific information regarding his immigration status, applications, or other materials.”

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

Nichols went on to say the public’s interest in disclosure of Harry’s immigration records was “outweighed by the duke’s privacy interest”.

“Public disclosure of records about a single admission of a foreign national in the circumstances described above would provide the public, at best, limited information about the department’s general policy in admitting aliens,” he said.

“The marginal public benefit of knowing that limited information is outweighed by the privacy interest the duke retains in his immigration status and records.”

Some of the judgment has been redacted – including facts Prince Harry has not disclosed publicly in relation to his immigration status and records, and what was contained in his visa application.

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

The Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit argued that US law “generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry” to the country.

The think tank also said answers on Prince Harry’s prior drug use in his visa application should have been disclosed as they could raise questions over the US government’s integrity.

-AAP