Prince Harry says he's 'devastated' after losing court battle over security protection in UK
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III, said Friday he is devastated" over the loss of a yearslong court battle for security protection in the United Kingdom, and still hopes for "reconciliation" with his family.
"There have been so many disagreements, differences, between me and some of my family," Harry said in an interview with the BBC, adding of his legal fight for security, "This current situation that has been ongoing for five years with regard to human life and safety is the sticking point. It is the only thing that's left."
Harry added that he would "love reconciliation" with his family, but said the ongoing security issue is "100%" the last step in repairing his relations with his family.
"I thought with all the disagreements and all of the chaos that's happening, the one thing that I could rely on is my family keeping me safe," he said. "And not only did they decide to remove my security in the U.K., but they also signaled to every single government around the world not to protect us."
In response to Harry’s interview with the BBC, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told ABC News, “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
Harry noted that his father, the king, who announced last year that he has cancer, is no longer speaking to him because of his legal battle for security protection.
"There's no point in continuing to fight anymore, as I said, life is precious," said Harry, who also issued a statement on his website following the ruling. "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."
Charles' cancer diagnosis was announced by the palace in February 2024. The palace has not shared details of the king's diagnosis or treatment.
He has returned to regular engagements, joking with guests Thursday at a reception for the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association at Windsor Castle and later planting a Swedish oak tree alongside Sweden's visiting king and queen.
Charles attended an official engagement at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday in support of cancer awareness. The king was photographed smiling alongside his wife, Queen Camilla, and attendees.
In a statement shared at the event, Charles commented on his own cancer experience, saying, “It has certainly given me an even deeper appreciation of the extraordinary work undertaken by the remarkable organisations and individuals gathered here this evening, many of whom I have known, visited and supported over the years. And it has reinforced what I have long observed during these visits -- that the darkest moments of illness can be illuminated by the greatest compassion."
The U.K. judge's ruling on Friday marked an end to a legal challenge from Harry stemming from a 2020 decision by the U.K. government that denied his family automatic taxpayer-funded police protection while in Britain, after he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stepped away from their roles as senior working royals.
Harry’s security situation will now remain as is, where he is provided state-funded police protection on a case-by-case basis when he visits the U.K.
In 2020, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as RAVEC, made a decision that security for the Sussexes would be granted on a case-by-case basis. The committee also rejected Harry's proposal to personally pay for police protection for his family while visiting the U.K.
Last year, a London judge ruled the U.K. government had the right to strip Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, of an automatic security detail during visits to Britain.
Reading a summary of the judgment dismissing Harry's appeal, the judge said Friday that arguments put forward by his lawyer were “powerful and moving,” and that it was, “plain that the Duke of Sussex felt badly treated by the system."
"I concluded, having studied the detail of the extensive documentation, I could not say that the duke’s sense of grievance translated into a legal argument for the challenge to RAVEC’s decision," he continued. "The duke was in effect stepping in and out of the cohort of protection provided by RAVEC. Outside the U.K., he was outside the cohort, but when in the U.K., his security would be considered as appropriate.”
He added, "It was impossible to say that this reasoning was illogical or inappropriate, indeed it seemed sensible.”
In their appeal of the ruling, Harry's lawyers argued in April court hearings that the 40-year-old faces security risks, including from al-Qaeda, who they say have called for Harry's assassination.
Harry, the fifth in line to the British throne, has said previously that his security risk is so high in the U.K. he feels reluctant to bring his family to his home country.
In closing remarks in court last month, Harry's lawyer, Shaheed Fatima KC, told the judge that Harry's "life is at stake."
"There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security, and whose life is at stake," Fatima said. "There is a person sitting behind me who is being told he is getting a special bespoke process when he knows and has experienced a process that is manifestly inferior in every respect."
Harry traveled from California to the U.K. to attend last month's hearings, arriving to court on his own, without his wife Meghan or any royal family members.
After stepping away from their senior royal roles, Harry and Meghan moved to California, where they now live with their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
The family of four is not known to have traveled to the U.K. together since 2022, when they attended Platinum Jubilee celebrations for Harry's grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Since moving to California, the Sussexes have relied on a privately funded security team.
In his interview with the BBC, Harry said he does not picture himself returning to the U.K. with his family in light of the court's decision.
"I can't see a world in which... I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point, and the things that they're going to miss is, well, everything," Harry said. "I love my country ... So I miss the U.K. I miss parts of the U.K., 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."
