Prince Harry is speaking out about how he “would love a reconciliation” with the royal family in an emotional and explosive interview following a lost legal challenge in the U.K.
The Duke of Sussex told BBC News that father King Charles III “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” adding that that he no longer wants to fight with his family.
He also told the British outlet, during an interview in California, “I don’t know how much longer my father has.” Charles, 76, who recently battled cancer, said earlier this week that the disease helped show him “the very best of humanity.”
“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” Harry said after his lost legal challenge May 2 to overturn the British government’s changes to his security detail.
However, despite the fact that “there have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” Harry said that he has now “forgiven” his fellow royals.
The court loss directly impacts future U.K. visits for Harry, who sought to overturn a decision made by the Home Office, a government department responsible for policing and security, that said he would not receive personal security detail while in Britain.
In 2020, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figure, known as RAVEC, decided Harry would no longer be eligible to receive publicly-funded security protection provided by the state. The decision has long been criticized by the former working royal, who announced he would step away from his official duties alongside his American-born wife, Duchess Meghan, in January 2020.
In an apparent reference to his mother Princess Diana’s 1997 death, Harry told the BBC: “I don’t want history to repeat itself.”
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Prince Harry criticizes Buckingham Palace for co-signing security decision
On May 2, Harry issued a lengthy statement denouncing the Court of Appeals’ May 2 ruling upholding the decision about his U.S. security.
“I want to start by thanking my legal team and the Court of Appeal Judges for their time and expertise in unravelling this issue that stemmed from the previous government,” his statement began. “This process has only ever been about ensuring my safety and that of my immediate family when we are in in the United Kingdom, so that we may safely visit my home country with the same level of security that other governments deem necessary for our protection.”
He added: “My ask has been simple: that the standard protocols for security and risk assessments be applied to me in the same way they are to others — including people who have never carried out any public functions on behalf of the State.”
Harry maintained that RAVEC “has failed to follow its own mandated processes for me, which are applied to all other high-risk and high-profile individuals,” and vowed to appeal to the Home Secretary “to ask her to urgently examine the matter and review the RAVEC process.”
In the statement, the Duke of Sussex again criticized the 2020 decision, which resulted in “stripping me of the protection I’ve had since birth, whilst signaling to all other governments to do the same.”
He continued, “This reckless action knowingly put me and my family in harm’s way. Life is precious and I understand the fragility of it.”
The statement claimed “this legal action has been a last resort” and he at first “attempted to resolve this issue privately, even offering to independently cover the costs of necessary and effective police protection in order to keep me and my family safe.” Harry also took aim at the royal household, alleging it could have RAVEC conduct a “risk, threat and impact assessment” regarding Harry’s security “at any point.”
He concluded: “The only possible conclusion that can be drawn is they choose not to, because they know the outcome would prove that my security should never have been removed in the first place.”
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In a statement regarding Harry’s legal case, Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
The Home Office said it welcomed the decision: “The U.K. government’s protective security system is rigorous and proportionate.”
Judge Geoffrey Vos said Harry’s lawyer had made “powerful and moving arguments” about the impact of the decision about his security.
“It was plain that the Duke of Sussex felt badly treated by the system, but I conclude – having studied the detail of the extensive documentation – I could not say that the duke’s sense of grievance translated into a legal argument for the challenge to RAVEC’s decision,” he told the court.
Last year, the High Court in London ruled the decision was lawful. That ruling was later upheld by three senior Court of Appeal judges.
Prince Harry lawyer said his ‘life is at stake’ from security changes
In a story published in April, Harry opened up to People magazine about the security ordeal, telling the outlet he was “exhausted and overwhelmed” from a two-day appeal hearing surrounding the British government’s 2020 ruling.
The magazine reported that Harry believes that his security was removed to draw him and Meghan back to the U.K. after they retreated to Meghan’s home stage of California, calling the security issue “difficult to swallow.”
Harry told People that his “worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case — and that’s really sad.” On April 9, Harry’s lawyer warned his life was in danger over the security changes during the prince’s two-day visit to London’s Royal Courts of Justice for his appeal.
“One must not forget the human dimension to this case: There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security and whose life is at stake,” his lawyer Shaheed Fatima told the court as Harry looked on.
Prince Harry ‘exhausted and overwhelmed’ after returning home to UK
Harry’s legal loss comes amid his and Meghan’s return to public life
Harry’s legal loss comes as he has made a fully-fledged return to public life alongside Duchess Meghan.
After a rocky start to post-royal life, with the pair’s infamous bombshell Oprah interview and mixed reviews about his tell-all book “Spare,” Harry and Meghan have seemingly found their footing. The parents to son Prince Archie, 5, and 3-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet have started careers in entertainment through their shared brand Archewell.
In 2025, Meghan reemerged with a pair of pre-Harry-inspired pursuits: a Netflix show, “With Love,” and a companion lifestyle brand, As Ever. Before meeting Harry, she was the curator of a successful lifestyle blog, The Tig. She also hosts a popular new podcast “Confessions of a Female Founder.”
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Harry, too, is set to become a Netflix star soon and produce a program for the streaming service that will gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional polo, his beloved sport, at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida.
Meghan and Harry starred in the four-part docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” which followed their exit from royal life and recounted their side of what happened behind the palace doors.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince Harry says he wants ‘reconciliation’ with King Charles, family
