Prince Harry criticised for saying he ‘doesn’t know how long King Charles has’

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Prince Harry has claimed his father, King Charles, no longer talks to him and said he does not know ‘how much longer my father has’ in a bombshell interview.

The Duke of Sussex opened up about the years-long tension with his family shortly after losing a legal battle over his reduced security.

‘He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff,’ he told the BBC. ‘I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.

‘Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has,’ he said, adding that he wants ‘reconciliation’ with the Royal Family.

TOPSHOT - Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walk behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, adorned with a Royal Standard and the Imperial State Crown and pulled by a Gun Carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, during a procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, in London on September 14, 2022. - Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state in Westminster Hall inside the Palace of Westminster, from Wednesday until a few hours before her funeral on Monday, with huge queues expected to file past her coffin to pay their respects. (Photo by LOIC VENANCE / AFP) (Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images) — The royal opened up about the ‘disagreements’ between him and his family (Picture: AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to the late Queen, said Buckingham Palace will be ‘raising their eyes heavenwards’ over the interview.

‘Prince Harry is saying “I don’t know how long my father has” – that’s going to cause real concern and more speculation in the media and the wider public about what his diagnosis is, which is incredibly unhelpful going forward,’ she told Sky News.

‘What you don’t want to do is have your private life played out in the media. So if you truly want reconciliation, you’ll do it in private, not in a BBC News interview.’

Harry’s comments come not long after the King reflected on his cancer journey, after first being diagnosed in 2024, sharing how ‘daunting and at times frightening’ having cancer can be.

Ex-BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond writes in the Daily Express that Harry ‘says he can only come back to the UK with his family if he is invited, because then he would get the security he believes he needs’.

She continues: ‘But this bombshell of an interview is unlikely to bring that invitation any closer. And that’s because at the root of the rift is the question of trust.

‘Harry’s father and brother do not trust Harry to keep conversations private. And this loudspeaker of a diatribe against them is not going to make them change their minds.’

The Court of Appeals dismissed Harry’s legal challenge against the government over his publicly funded security when he is in the UK on Friday.

The prince said he ‘can’t see a world’ where he and his family are back in the UK (Picture: AP)

He has been fighting a decision to remove the police protection normally given to the royals since September 2021.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, announced in 2020 they were ‘stepping back’ from their official duties and moved to the US.

Not long after, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, or Ravec, made up of government and police officials and royal household members, downgraded his protection eligibility.

The court heard at a two-day hearing last month how Harry worries that being in Britain with his family puts their safety at risk, something he reflected on after losing his legal battle.

‘I can’t see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point,’ Harry said.

He added: ‘I love my country, I always have done, despite what some people in that country have done… and I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.’

An appeals judge tossed out Harry’s case (Picture: Lucy North/PA Wire)

The court ruled that while the prince had made ‘powerful’ arguments around his family’s safety, it did not ‘translate into a legal argument’.

Harry admitted that his security woes ‘could be resolved’ through Charles, though he stressed he never asked his father to step in.

In response to today’s ruling, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: ‘All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.’

Harry released a further statement on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s website this evening.

prince harry statement released after he lost his court case regarding security on his UK visits — Harry issued a lengthy letter following the ruling (Picture: Leon McGowran)

Describing the legal challenge as a ‘last resort’, Harry said the dismissal shows ‘unshocking truths’ such as the Royal Household being the ‘key decision-makers on Ranvec’.

‘The court has decided to defer to this,’ he continued, ‘revealing a sad truth: my hands are tied in seeking legal recourse against the establishment’.

Harry added that the UK will always be part of who he is and a place he ‘loves’.

‘I remain committed to a life of public service,’ he said, referring to his charitable work.

‘This has, and always will be, my life’s work and when you strip away the noise, you’ll be able to hear, all I’ve been asking for is safety.’

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