Buckingham Palace has addressed Prince Harry’s explosive BBC interview, stating that his concerns regarding security have been ‘thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts’.
In the interview, the Duke of Sussex made several sharp criticisms of the Royal Family, expressing that he feels cut off from King Charles, who he claims ‘refuses to communicate with him’.
He shared his uncertainty about how much time his father has left, expressing reluctance to bring his wife and children back to the UK. He mentioned having ‘numerous disputes’ with his family, suggesting some members ‘might never forgive’ him for authoring a book.
Prince Harry also said he was ‘devastated’ after losing his appeal in court over his security and branded it an ‘establishment stitch-up’.
Saying that he felt ‘let down’ and looking deflated, the Duke of Sussex blamed the Royal Household for influencing the decision to reduce his taxpayer-funded security.
Replying to the bombshell claims, a Palace spokesperson said tonight: ‘All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.’
England’s second most senior judge, Sir Geoffrey Vos, today told the duke his ‘grievance’ over downgraded security had not ‘translated into a legal argument’.
And he ruled the security decision had been a ‘predictable’ and even ‘sensible’ reaction to Megxit when Harry stepped back from being a senior royal and quit Britain.
The Duke of Sussex has claimed King Charles ‘won’t speak to me’, but claimed he wants ‘reconciliation’ with his family
In a devastating broadside reopening wounds with the Royal Family on Friday night, Harry told the BBC in California that he wants ‘reconciliation’ with the royal family but was at present cut off from his father.
‘He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,’ the prince said, adding he didn’t know how long the King had left to live.
‘There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,’ he said, but he had now ‘forgiven’ them.
In a scathing attack on the Royal Family, Harry also claimed some of his family could never forgive him for his book, Spare, and said he does not know how long his father has left to live.
He said: ‘There have been so many disagreements, differences between me and some of my family this current situation that has been now ongoing for five years with regards to human life and safety is the sticking point it is the only thing that’s left.
‘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 you know there is, I would love reconciliation with my family there’s no point in continuing to fight anymore, as I said life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff but it would be nice to reconcile.
‘As I learnt through the First Nations, throughout Canada because of the Invictus games their goal in life was always truth and reconciliation and I turned around to them in many conversations and I said reconciliation can’t come without truth.
‘I’ve now found out the truth I’ve shared some of it with you today, a lot of it exists out there whether people choose to ignore it or not so it would be nice to have that reconciliation part now if they don’t want that, that’s entirely up to them.’
In the astonishing interview, Prince Harry revealed he did not know how long his father Charles had left (pictured together in 2022)
Harry believes he has been ‘singled out’ and ‘badly treated’ for ‘unjustified, inferior treatment’ since Megxit five years ago
Asked whether he had asked his father the King to intervene in the dispute over security, Prince Harry said: ‘I never asked him to intervene – I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.
‘The Ravec committee is an expert committee full of professionals plus the royals.’
But he added: ‘There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hand, ultimately this whole thing could be resolved through him not necessarily by intervening but by stepping aside allowing the experts to do what is necessary and to carry out an RMB.’
The Duke of Sussex told BBC News that ‘some people want history to repeat itself’, which he described as ‘pretty dark’.
He said: ‘Because I decided to remove myself eventually from the institution, my life got devalued from the highest score to the lowest score overnight.’
Asked about history repeating itself, he said: ‘Yeah, I don’t want history to repeat itself. I think there’s a lot of other people out there, and the majority also don’t want history to repeat itself.
‘Through the disclosure process, I’ve discovered that some people want history to repeat itself, which is pretty dark.’
Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls, pictured today as he rejected Harry’s appeal
It comes just days after the King described the ‘daunting’ and ‘frightening’ experience of being told you have cancer, speaking in his most poignant update on his illness since being diagnosed 15 months ago
Asked who that was, Harry declined to answer.
‘I’m not going to share at this point,’ he said. ‘I know all the names of the people that were involved in this process.
‘You have to question, why wasn’t I put through the same risk management board that everybody else was put through, including members of my family?’
When asked by the BBC what about his current security arrangements made him feel unsafe, the Duke of Sussex replied: ‘Everything.’
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.
‘I have all of the truth, I have all of the knowledge now, throughout the legal process.
‘I have uncovered my worst fears, and to now know today based on this judgment that there was no legal framework that constrains the decisions of this body Ravec, on which the royal household sit on, and I didn’t know that until this legal process in 2021, one of the first things my lawyer said to me as disclosure started, as this process started, was ‘did you know that the royal household sat on Ravec?’, and my jaw hit the floor.’
In a shocking revelation, Harry also said he would not bring his family to the UK.
The Duke of Sussex’s appeal against the dismissal of his legal challenge over the level of protection he and his family (pictured together at Christmas) is about his family’s right to security and safety, the court heard
He explained: ‘I can’t see a world in which I will be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point and the things they are going to miss is everything.
‘I love my country and 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. I think it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.’
It comes as Harry today sensationally lost his battle for taxpayer-funded armed police bodyguards when in the UK – putting him on the hook for £1.5million in costs.
The Duke of Sussex was told his ‘grievance’ over downgraded security had not ‘translated into a legal argument’ to successfully challenge the decision.
Harry believes he has been ‘singled out’ and ‘badly treated’ for ‘unjustified, inferior treatment’ since Megxit five years ago.
His barrister argued that the removal of Met Police armed bodyguards when he is in the UK has left the royal’s life ‘at stake’.
The California-based royal had fought 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) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the country.
But Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls said in his ruling this afternoon in London that Ravec’s decision ‘were taken as an understandable, and perhaps predictable, reaction to the claimant having stepped back from royal duties and having left the UK to live principally overseas’.
In an emotional interview with the BBC , Harry said he was ‘devastated’ after sensationally losing his court fight – putting him on the hook for £1.5million in legal costs. Pictured: King Charles and Prince Harry observe the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is transferred from the gun carriage to the hearse at Wellington Arch following her State Funeral
‘These were powerful and moving arguments and that it was plain the Duke of Sussex felt badly treated by the system’, he said.
‘But I concluded, having studied the detail, I could not say that the Duke’s sense of grievance translated into a legal argument to challenge RAVEC’s decision’.
Sir Geoffrey said Harry ‘makes the mistake of confusing superficial analogies’ when comparing himself with other VIPs which had ‘added nothing’ to the legal question.
He added: ‘My conclusion was that the Duke of Sussex’s appeal would be dismissed’.
It means that for now, armed police bodyguards, paid for by the British taxpayer, will not be automatically reinstated for him, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet when they are in the UK. It raises more questions over whether the Sussexes will visit Britain again.
The King and his youngest son are believed to have differing views over Harry’s decision to pursue his legal fight with the Home Office. The Home Secretary is calling for the duke to pay all costs for both sides – a bill approaching £1.5million.
This is a breaking story, more to follow.
