London: On Friday, Prince Harry expressed his desire to mend ties with his estranged family, revealing he felt "devastated" after losing a legal battle regarding his security, which prevents him from safely returning to the UK with his family.
Appearing visibly distressed, Harry shared with the BBC that his father, King Charles III, has ceased communication with him over the security matter and called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to take action.
"Naturally, some family members may never forgive me for publishing a book or for various other reasons. However, I genuinely hope for reconciliation," he stated.
The Duke of Sussex, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to the United States with his wife Meghan and their young son Archie, has been involved in a prolonged legal dispute following the UK government's reduction of his security.
Speaking from California, he indicated he was not interested in further legal confrontations, hinting that he would refrain from appealing to the Supreme Court.
"Life is precious. I am uncertain how much longer my father has... he refuses to communicate with me due to this security issue," Harry remarked.
In February 2024, Charles was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer and has been undergoing weekly treatments. Harry reportedly learned through the media that his 76-year-old father had been briefly hospitalized due to complications from his treatment in April.
The 40-year-old prince expressed his "devastation" over Thursday's court ruling, which denied his request for full police protection during visits to Britain.
"For now, it is impossible for me to return to the UK with my family safely," he added.
Harry was absent during the ruling when Judge Geoffrey Vos dismissed the appeal, stating that the duke's "sense of grievance" did not constitute a legal argument.
The judge noted that Harry's security was now at a "more bespoke, and generally lesser, level of protection than when he was in the UK," but this alone did not warrant a legal complaint.
Since relocating to California, Harry and Meghan welcomed a second child, Lilibet, a sister to Archie born in 2019, and have had limited interactions with the British royal family.
In 2020, the government committee responsible for royal and public figure protection determined that Harry would not receive the same level of publicly-funded security while in Britain as he had previously enjoyed.
After initially losing a High Court case challenging this decision last year, the prince was granted permission to appeal against the interior ministry's ruling.
His legal team argued that Harry was "singled out" for "unjustified and inferior treatment" and that the committee failed to adequately evaluate the security threats when downgrading his protection.
'Stitch-up'
Haunted by the tragic death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a high-speed car crash in 1997 while trying to evade paparazzi, Harry has long held the press responsible for the tragedy and cited intense media scrutiny as a key reason for stepping back five years ago.
He told the BBC, "I miss the UK," adding, "it's truly sad that I won't be able to show my children my homeland."
During the two-day appeal hearing last month, Harry's lawyers highlighted that the Sussexes had faced threats from al-Qaeda and had been involved in a "dangerous car pursuit with paparazzi" in New York City, illustrating the security risks he encounters.
"There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, security, and life are at stake," asserted the prince's lawyer, Shaheed Fatima.
Harry characterized Thursday's court ruling as a "good old fashioned establishment stitch up" and accused the Royal Household of influencing the decision.
He claimed that the security issue had been "used as leverage" to control him and urged both his father and the government to intervene.
While Harry has maintained a relatively low profile since 2020, Meghan has increased her online visibility this year, launching a podcast and Netflix series, and returning to social media.