Prince Harry has shared that his father “won’t speak to me” as he made an emotional appeal for “reconciliation” with his family.
After “so many disagreements,” the Duke of Sussex mentioned that he has now “forgiven” his family and expressed concerns about how much time his father, the King, has left to live.
However, Harry admitted that Charles no longer communicates with him due to the duke’s legal fight over changes to his security after stepping down from royal duties.
The prince’s candid interview on Friday also included a call for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to intervene and review a Court of Appeal decision that went against him regarding the level of security he should have in the UK.
Harry described the ruling as “a good old-fashioned stitch-up” and emphasized that improved security was essential for mending his relationship with his family.
Talking about his strained relationship with the 76-year-old monarch, the duke told the BBC:
“He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.
“There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family.”
He mentioned that some family members would never forgive him for the book he wrote, Spare, where he revealed many royal secrets.
However, Harry added that he had now “forgiven” them.
“I would love a reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight any more,” he said. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
The duke has only seen his father, who is undergoing cancer treatment, once and briefly since his diagnosis early last year.
However, Harry stated that “for the time being,” it was impossible for him to bring his family to the UK safely, expressing his frustration over losing his legal challenge against the Home Office.
“I would ask the prime minister to step in. I would ask Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to look at this very, very carefully,” Harry said, also suggesting that the specialist body responsible for reviewing security arrangements should be re-evaluated.
The 40-year-old had appealed against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office regarding the 2020 decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which determined he should receive a different level of protection when in the UK.
Last year, the High Court ruled that the decision was lawful.
But Harry’s lawyers argued during a two-day hearing in April that he was treated unfairly and that Ravec didn’t follow its own guidelines when making the decision about his security.
Now, three judges from the Court of Appeal have upheld the decision, saying that while the prince understandably felt wronged, it didn’t amount to a legal mistake.
The duke expressed disappointment, saying he was “pretty gutted” about the ruling and added, “We thought it was going to go our way.”
His lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, pointed out that Harry’s safety was in jeopardy, mentioning that al-Qaeda had recently called for his death, and that both he and his wife, Meghan Markle, were involved in a dangerous car chase with paparazzi in New York City in 2023.
However, the government’s legal team argued that the special security arrangement for Harry had its benefits from a safety perspective.
Before stepping back from his royal duties in March 2020, Harry, like other senior royals, had received full security protection funded by the state.
He criticized the appeal court’s decision, saying it meant that royals couldn’t live without the control of the royal family.
He also mentioned that he loved his country and would like to show his children his homeland, but now he only comes back for funerals and court cases.
Next week, Harry’s legal team will be back in the High Court as part of a lawsuit he filed alongside singer Elton John and others against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail Online, over alleged illegal activities.
A spokesperson from the Home Office commented: “We are pleased that the court has found in favour of the government’s position in this case.
“The UK government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate. It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements.”
In response to the failed legal challenge, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”