Buckingham Palace released a strong statement following Prince Harry’s bombshell new interview.
On May 2, the palace responded after the Duke of Sussex, 40, spoke with BBC News hours after a judge dismissed his legal appeal to restore the state-funded security he says was unjustly stripped when he and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal roles in the U.K. in 2020.
“All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion,” a palace spokesperson said.
Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos dismissed the appeal on May 2, saying that two other judges agreed with his opinion.
“The Duke was, in effect, stepping in and out of the cohort of protection provided by RAVEC [the government’s Royal and VIP Executive Committee]. Outside the U.K., he was outside the cohort, but when in the U.K., his security would be considered as appropriate depending on the circumstances. It was impossible, I said in my judgment, to say that this reasoning was illogical or inappropriate. Indeed, it seemed sensible,” Vos said.
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King Charles and Prince Harry in September 2022.
Related: Prince Harry Wants ‘Reconciliation’ but Says King Charles ‘Won’t Speak to Me’: ‘I Don’t Know How Much Longer My Father Has’
“Even if there had been a risk analysis from the Risk Management Board, it would very likely have only confirmed the threat, vulnerability and impact levels which the Duke of Sussex had faced when earlier risk analyses were undertaken,” he continued. “But it would have had nothing to say on the critical features of the changed situation, namely the need for protective security on future uncertain visits and the government’s appetite for risk.”
The judge described RAVEC’s decision on Prince Harry’s security as “understandable and perhaps predictable.”
Harry recently traveled to London from his California home to attend the two-day hearing at the Royal Court of Justice on April 8 and 9, the latest step in a years-long fight to renew the automatic, state-funded security protection during visits to his home country that he lost after stepping back five years ago.
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Prince Harry leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London on April 8, 2025.
Related: Prince Harry Says He Can’t See Bringing Archie and Lilibet Back to the U.K.: ‘They’re Going to Miss Everything’
In February 2024, King Charles’ younger son lost his initial case against RAVEC’s decision to downgrade his security, with the appeal vetoed on May 2.
The Duke of Sussex has long argued that as ceremonial head of state, the King could help reinstate the security he is fighting for — an idea the palace denies and emphasized on Friday.
Prince Harry spoke his truth the sensational new interview, where he alleged that his father the King “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” said “some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book” (referencing his 2023 tell-all memoir, Spare) and claimed that he can’t picture a future where he would feel safe bringing his wife and their kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, to the U.K. without this protection.
“I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” Prince Harry told the network.
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The Duke of Sussex also voiced uncertainty around the state of his father’s health and prognosis as he continues treatment for cancer. The palace announced in February 2024 that the King was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer and palace sources said around Christmas that it would continue into this year.
“Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has,” Prince Harry said. “He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”
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