Prince Harry has revealed his father “won’t speak to me” as he made an emotional plea for “reconciliation” with his family.
Following “so many disagreements”, the Duke of Sussex said he has now “forgiven” his family as he spoke of his fears over how long the King has left to live.
But Harry admitted that Charles no longer talks to him because of the duke’s legal battle over changes to his security arrangements after he quit royal duties.
The prince’s candid interview on Friday came as he called on prime minister Keir Starmer to step in to review a Court of Appeal ruling that went against him over the levels of security he is entitled to in the UK.
Harry claimed the decision was “a good old-fashioned stitch-up” and stressed that better security was key to repairing his relationship with his family.
Of his estranged 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 said some members of his family would never forgive him for the book he wrote, Spare, in which he revealed a host of royal secrets.
However, Harry said 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 seen his father, who is being treated for cancer, only once and briefly, since his diagnosis early last year.
But Harry claimed that “for the time being” it was impossible for him to bring his family to the UK safely, saying he was devastated about 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, adding that the specialist body that reviewed the security arrangements should be reviewed.
The 40-year-old had appealed against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) in 2020 that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.
Last year, the High Court ruled the decision was lawful.
But Harry’s barristers told a two-day hearing in April that he was singled out for “inferior treatment” and that Ravec did not follow its own terms of reference when deciding his security.
Now the decision has been upheld by three Court of Appeal judges who said that, while the prince understandably felt aggrieved, that did not amount to an error of law.
The duke said he was “pretty gutted” about the appeal court’s decision, adding: “We thought it was going to go our way.”
His lawyer, Shaheed Fatima, said Harry’s life was at stake, citing that al-Qaeda had recently called for him to be killed, and he and his wife Meghan Markle had been involved in a dangerous car chase with paparazzi in New York City in 2023.
However, the government's legal team said the bespoke arrangement for the prince had advantages from a security assessment point of view.
Harry, along with other senior royals, had received full publicly funded security protection provided by the state before his high-profile exit from official royal life in March 2020.
He slated the appeal court’s ruling, saying it meant royals could not live outside the control of the royal family.
And he said he loved his country and would love to show his young children his homeland, but now he returns only for funerals and court cases.
Next week, Harry's legal team will be back at the High Court as part of the lawsuit he has brought with singer Elton John and other against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail Online, over alleged widespread unlawful activities.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “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 BuckinghamPalace spokesperson said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
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