Buckingham Palace has issued a rare statement after Prince Harry lost his bid for security in the UK, claiming he wanted to reconcile with his family.
Following Friday’s decision to deny the Duke of Sussex’s appeal to reinstate police protection for himself and his family, Harry opened up to the BBC about the toll the feud has taken on his personal life, including his relationship with father King Charles III.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight anymore, life is precious,” Harry said. “There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family."
Despite these disagreements, Harry says that he’s “forgiven” them.
However, the prince admitted: “Charles won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,” before adding he doesn't know how much longer his father - who is currently undergoing cancer treatment - has left.
Harry returning to his home country with wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, now seems a lot more difficult.
“I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” he told the BBC.
"The things that they're going to miss is, well, everything," Harry continued, telling the BBC: "I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done...
"So I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK, of course I do - and I think that it's really quite sad that I won't be able to show my children my homeland."
Harry’s loss in court marked a major legal and emotional setback. During a two-day hearing in London last month, he argued that he’d received “unjustified and inferior treatment” when he was stripped of his security detail after stepping back from royal duties.
But on Friday, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice David Bean, and Lord Justice Andrew Edis delivered the final ruling, denying his appeal.
The legal team behind the decision was clear: It “would not be appropriate for Harry to have the publicly-paid-for security since shirking his royal duties.”
Reacting to the ruling, Harry didn’t hold back.
“I’m devastated, not so much as devastated with the loss that I am about the people behind the decision, feeling as though this is okay. Is it a win for them?” he asked.
“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 also called the outcome “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up,” and implied the Royal Family may have influenced the decision.
Per the New York Post, Buckingham Palace - which usually stays tight-lipped on internal family drama - has issued a rare public statement in response: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
The situation adds to an already strained royal dynamic. Meghan, Archie, and Lilibet have not returned to the UK since the couple’s 2020 departure for California. Meghan notably skipped Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.
This isn’t the first time the Palace has broken protocol to issue a statement on Harry and Meghan.
In 2021, following the couple’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, where Harry revealed that a family member had “concerns” over Archie’s skin tone, the Palace said it was “saddened” by the claims and called the race allegations “concerning.”
“While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” the Palace said at the time.