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Prince Harry says king ‘won’t speak to him’ and he wants ‘reconciliation’ Prince Harry says king ‘won’t speak to him’ and he would ‘love’ to be reconciled
(31 minutes later)
Duke of Sussex says he does not know how long King Charles has left to live and has ‘forgiven’ him Duke of Sussex says he does not know how long King Charles has left to live and that he has ‘forgiven’ him
Prince Harry has said he wants “reconciliation” with the rest of the royal family after a legal challenge over his security that has left him “devastated”. The Duke of Sussex has said it is “impossible” for him to bring his wife and children back to the UK after losing his legal challenge over personal security, and revealed he would “love” a reconciliation with his family.
The Duke of Sussex told the BBC his father, King Charles, “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff”. He said he did not know how long his father had left to live. In an emotional interview with the BBC, Prince Harry said his father, King Charles, will not speak to him “because of the security stuff”, but said he wanted reconciliation as life was “precious” and he did not know how long his father, who has been diagnosed with cancer, had left to live.
Speaking from California, he said “there have been so many disagreements” between him and his family, but he had “forgiven” them. Speaking in California, where he now lives, Harry, 40, said: “For the time being, it’s impossible for me to take my family back to the UK safely.”
The prince said it was “impossible” for him to take his family back to the UK safely after losing his court of appeal challenge over his security arrangements while in the country. He added: “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point, and the things that they’re going to miss, is, well, everything. I love my country. I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done.
“For the time being, it’s impossible for me to take my family back to the UK safely. I will continue on with a life of public service. So I will always support the charities and the people that mean so much to me. “So, you know, I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And it’s really quite sad I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”
“I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point, and the things that they’re going to miss is, well, everything, you know. Harry had sought to overturn changes to his security provision while in the UK, which were made after he and the Duchess of Sussex stepped away from royal duties in 2020.
“I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done. I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK. Of course I do. And I think that’s it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.” He was offered “bespoke” security, which he felt was “inferior” and claimed the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (known as Ravec), which authorises security measures, had breached its own terms of reference by not conducting a risk management board (RMB) before making the decision.
The challenge came after Harry and Meghan left the UK and moved to Canada, and then California, after announcing they wanted to step back as senior royals. He insisted his father could help solve the issue, though he had not asked him to intervene. “I can only come to the UK safely if I am invited, and there is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands.
The prince said he did not ask his father to become involved in his battle over his security arrangements in the UK. “I’ve never asked him to intervene. I’ve asked him to step out,” he said. “I step out of the way and let the experts do their job.” “Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him, not by intervening, but by stepping aside and allowing the experts to do what is necessary and to carry out an RMB,” he said.
Harry said: “I can only come to the UK safely if I am invited, and there is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands. Harry also appealed to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, saying: “This all was initiated under a previous government. There is now a new government. I have had it described to me by people who know about the facts that this is a good old-fashioned establishment stitch up. And that’s what it feels like.”
“Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him, not by intervening, but by stepping aside and allowing the experts to do what is necessary. Asked whether the prime minister should “step in”, he replied: “Yes, I would ask the prime minister to step in.
“That said, this all was initiated under a previous government. There is now a new government. I have had it described to me, once people knew about the facts, that this is a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up, and that is what it feels like.”
When asked whether Keir Starmer should “step in”, Harry replied: “I think that based on the judgment that the court has put out today, it clearly states that Ravec [the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures] are not constrained by law. Again, I wish somebody had said that from the beginning.
“Yes, I would ask the prime minister to step in.
“I would ask Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to look at this very, very carefully and I would ask her to review Ravec and its members, because if it is an expert body, then what is the royal household’s role there, if it is not to influence and decide what they want for the members of their household?”“I would ask Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, to look at this very, very carefully and I would ask her to review Ravec and its members, because if it is an expert body, then what is the royal household’s role there, if it is not to influence and decide what they want for the members of their household?”
The duke also said in the interview that “everything” made him feel unsafe about his current security arrangements. On his bitter rift with the royal family, he said: “There have been so many disagreements, differences between me and some of my family. This current situation, that has been ongoing now for five years with regard to human life and safety as the sticking point. It is the only thing that’s left.
He continued: “I would not have taken this this far if I did not have compelling evidence of facts that reveal why the decision was made and I am sitting here today talking to you, where we have lost the appeal, but the other side have won in keeping me unsafe, so again there is a lot of question marks that a lot of people will have.” “Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book, of course they will never forgive me for lots of things, but ... I would love reconciliation with my family.
Harry said he could “never leave the royal family”, and that he left the institution “because at the end of the day I had to”. “There’s no point in continuing to fight any more. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has, you know. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile.”
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He added: “If they want that, it’s entirely up to them.”
Harry said he could never leave the royal family, though he had left the “institution” because “at the end of the day I had to”.
He continued: “Whether I have an official role or not is irrelevant to the threats, risk and impact on the reputation of the UK if something was to happen.
“What really worries me more than anything else about today’s decision, depending on what happens next, [is that] it set a new precedent that security can be used to control members of the family, and effectively, what it does is imprison other members of the family from being able to choose a different life.”
He claimed that, through the court disclosure process, he had “discovered that some people want history to repeat itself, which is pretty dark”. Asked who he meant, Harry declined to answer.
He said he was “devastated” by the court’s decision, adding: “Not so much devastated with the loss [as] about the people behind the decision feeling as though this is OK. Is it a win for them?
“I’m sure there are some people out there, probably most likely the people that wish me harm, [who] consider this a huge win.”
He indicated that he would not be seeking a further legal challenge, saying Friday’s ruling had “proven that there was no way to win this through the courts”.