Prince Harry wants ‘reconciliation’ with Royal Family but says King ‘won’t speak to me’
Prince Harry has said he wants “reconciliation” with the Royal Family – but claims the King “won’t speak to me”.
In an interview with BBC News after losing a legal challenge over his security in the UK, the Duke of Sussex said “there have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family”.
He said he had now “forgiven” the Royal Family, but added that the security row, “that has now been ongoing for five years with regards to my human life and safety”, is “the sticking point” and “the only thing that’s left”.
“Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book,” he said, referencing his 2023 memoir Spare, where he made a series of claims about the Royal Family.
He added: “Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things but… 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 won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. It would be nice to reconcile.”
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
It’s understood that the King felt it would have been constitutionally improper to intervene while the case was being considered by the government and reviewed by the courts.
It comes after Harry earlier today lost his legal challenge against the UK government over the level of security he receives when he is in the country.
After he and Meghan stepped down from full-time royal duties and moved to the US in 2020, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) decided to downgrade his high-level police protection for when he was back in the country.
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Harry loses security appeal
Since then, the duke has argued that his private protection team in the US no longer had access to the UK intelligence information needed to keep his wife and children safe.
At the Royal Courts of Justice on Friday, Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said that while the duke’s safety concerns were both “powerful and moving”, his “sense of grievance” did not “translate into a legal argument”.
Harry ‘let down’ by ruling
In the interview, he said he cannot “see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point” because of the security decision.
Harry added he was “let down” and felt the decision was “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up,” before adding he worries the decision sets “a new precedent that security can be used to control members of the family”.
He said he believes “what it does is imprison other members of the family from being able to choose a different life,” and added: “If, for me, security is conditional on having an official role – one that both myself and my wife wish to carry on, but then was rejected… by the Royal Household – and the result to that is you lose your security.
“That basically says you can’t live outside of their control if you want to be safe.”
Duke: PM should ‘step in’
The duke also said “this all was initiated under a previous government” and said he would ask Sir Keir Starmer and the home secretary to “step in”.
He said he would ask Yvette Cooper to review Ravec and its members, “because if it is an expert body, then what is the Royal Household’s role there, if it is not to influence and decide what they want for the members of their household?”
Ravec includes people from the Home Office, Cabinet Office, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, Metropolitan Police, and the Royal Household.
It previously decided Harry should have a “bespoke” arrangement for publicly-funded security when in the UK, as he was no longer entitled to the same protection as working royals after stepping down from full-time duties.
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Criminals who refuse to attend their sentencing hearings will face further punishment under a new law.
The government is introducing the Victims and Courts Bill to parliament today, which will include more jail time or loss of privileges in prison in England and Wales for criminals who refuse to attend court for sentencing.
Several high-profile offenders have refused to face victims’ families, sparking a public outcry and calls for a change in the law.
The families of murdered primary school teacher Sabina Nessa, law graduate Zara Aleena and mother-of-three Jan Mustafa have all campaigned for the change after their killers were absent from sentencing hearings.
Ms Nessa’s sister, Jebina Islam, Ms Aleena’s aunt, Farah Naz, and Ms Mustafa’s cousin, Ayse Hussein, said: “This move holds offenders to account.
“It sends a clear and necessary message: the justice system is not something you should be able to opt out of.
“It is not about punishment through force – but about ensuring that perpetrators cannot remove themselves from the consequences of their actions.”
Teacher Sabina Nessa was killed by Koci Selamaj in 2021 after he drove to London to assault a stranger
They said the legislation is a “step in the right direction” and the proposed punishments indicate it is “being taken seriously”.
The trio added: “This change supports victims and society alike. It shows justice being done.
“It gives families a moment of recognition and a form of reparation. It is a moment of reckoning for the convicted.”
Under the new legislation, judges will be able to sentence offenders for up to two more years in prison for avoiding justice.
Those already facing lengthy imprisonment or whole life orders could have a range of prison punishments, such as confinement to their cells and being stripped of privileges, such as extra gym time.
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Former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak had pledged to change the law after meeting the mother of murdered nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, and Sir Keir Starmer promised to enact it.
Olivia Pratt-Korbel was killed by Thomas Cashman, who refused to attend his sentencing hearing in 2023
Thomas Cashman, the gunman who killed Olivia as he chased a drug dealer who had run into her Liverpool home, did not appear in court to hear his life sentence in April 2023.
Earlier this year, triple crossbow and knife killer Kyle Clifford refused to attend his sentencing when he received a whole life order.
Southport child murderer Axel Rudakubana was removed from his sentencing hearing for repeatedly shouting in January.
Teacher Sabina Nessa was killed by Koci Selamaj in 2021 after he drove to London to assault a stranger
Zara Aleena was killed by Jordan McSweeney, who should have been recalled to prison at the time. Pic: PA
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones said: “I would like to thank the remarkable families of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Jan Mustafa, Sabina Nessa and Zara Aleena and countless others who have campaigned tirelessly for offenders to have to face the reality of their crimes by attending their sentencing.
“Justice isn’t optional – we’ll make sure criminals face their victims.”
The bill also says it will restrict parental responsibility from child sex offenders who commit serious crimes against their own children.
The powers of the Victims’ Commissioner will also be strengthened to require them to produce an independent report on whether agencies are meeting their statutory duty over the Victim’s Code to hold the government to account.
Child protection charity the NSPCC backed the move, saying they hope it will improve how young victims and survivors are treated, but said it was “not a complete solution”.
Eighteen-year-olds will be allowed to drive trains due to concerns over labour shortages, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced.
The current minimum age for someone wanting a career on the railways is 20.
But with 87% of night-before cancellations made because a driver is unavailable, the government has decided to lower the age of entry by a couple of years.
Several operators rely on drivers to work extra shifts voluntarily.
At present, the average age of a British train driver is 48, while 30% are due to reach retirement age by 2029.
A consultation on lowering the minimum age for drivers, carried out last year by the Conservative government, received “overwhelming support from across the industry”, the DfT said.
Other nations which have lowered the age for train drivers are France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, officials added.
Transport for London opened driver apprenticeships on the Underground to 18-year-olds in 2007.
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Training to drive mainline trains generally takes between one and two years.
Assessment and qualification standards will be unchanged.
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Industry body the Rail Safety and Standards Board said its research had shown 18-year-olds are “capable of safely becoming train drivers”.
New job and apprenticeship opportunities could be available as early as December, the DfT said.
Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, said the government was “future-proofing” the railways against “delays and cancellations caused by a shortage of drivers”.
Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef, said: “At the moment, young people who want to become train drivers leave school or college at 18, get other jobs, and we miss out as an industry as they don’t wait around until they turn 20 to find a career.”
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