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Prince Harry asks his family for reconciliation© BBC

Prince Harry pleads for 'reconciliation' with royal family – and reveals King Charles won't speak to him

The Duke of Sussex has been estranged from his family since 2020

Matthew Moore
Senior Evening Writer
Updated: May 2, 2025
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Prince Harry has told the BBC about his hopes to "reconcile" with his family after the Duke of Sussex stepped down as a working royal in 2020.

Harry, his wife Meghan Markle and their son, Prince Archie, subsequently moved to the United States, where Harry and Meghan welcomed a daughter, Princess Lilibet.

WATCH: Prince Harry wants to reconcile with family

In an interview with the network, he revealed that his father, King Charles, is no longer speaking to him, mainly because of the ongoing row over his "security" arrangements.

The father-of-two spoke of his want to reconcile with the family, saying: "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."

King Charles and Prince Harry  in black tuxedos© Getty
Harry revealed how he and his father no longer talk

However, he conceded that any reconciliation would be in his family's hands, adding: "If they don't want that, that's entirely up to them."

The Duke spoke of the extent of the fallout between him and his family members, including his brother, Prince William, as he explained: "There have been so many disagreements, differences between me and some of my family. This current situation that has now been ongoing for five years in regard to human life and safety is the sticking point. It is the only thing that's left."

Prince William and Prince Harry walking side-by-side© Getty Images
Harry said it would depend on his family to forgive him

He added: "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."

In a separate part of the interview, the Duke said: "At this point I am feeling very let down. It is the minority of people. The press themselves have incited so much hatred towards my wife myself and even my children. That is hard to forgive. There are decisions that were made, there are things that have happened since 2016 that I can now forgive.

"I've moved past that. I can forgive my family's involvement, my father, my brother and my stepmother, I can forgive. I can forgive the press to a large extent as well, for so many things that have happened."

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Harry also shared how he believed his father had a lot of "control and ability" to resolve the situation over his security. "Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him," he stated. "Not necessarily by intervening, but my stepping side, allowing the experts to do what is necessary and to carry out an RNB."

Security

At the start of the interview, he explained: "I can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point. They're going to miss everything, I love my country, I always have done despite what some people in that country have done."

He added: "I miss 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."

Prince Harry outside court© Getty Images
Harry was defeated in his latest court case

Elsewhere, he added: "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."

In another part of the interview, he continued: "Put yourself in my shoes, if you step back to try to create a different role, the same official role, but a different working relationship with the institution that you were born into, for the sake of your wife and your own mental health and your child, which now a lot more has come out, because I felt as though it needed to come out – the other side of the story needed to be told, God forbid anything should happen. And I don't regret that at all.

"But 2020, when that decision happened, I couldn't believe it. I actually couldn't believe it. 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. And not only did they decide to remove my security in the UK, but they also signalled to every single government around the world not to protect us."

Prince Harry attends The Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst© Getty Images
Harry was critical over the way he's been treated since steppign away from the royal family

On Friday, Harry lost his legal battle over his security arrangements in the UK. The 40-year-old had challenged 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.

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In the ruling, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis dismissed Harry's appeal. Reading a summary of the decision, Sir Geoffrey said: "The Duke was in effect stepping in and out of the cohort of protection provided by Ravec. Outside the UK, he was outside the cohort, but when in the UK, his security would be considered as appropriate."

Prince Harry looking serious in suit and tie© Getty Images
The Duke spoke about his worries over bringing his family over to the UK

He continued: "It was impossible to say that this reasoning was illogical or inappropriate, indeed it seemed sensible."

Invictus inspiration

Harry revealed that part of his hopes for reconciliation came from his experiences with members of the First Nations at his Invictus Games, this year the event was held in Canada. "Their goal in life was always truth and reconcilation," he said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the Invictus Crowd© Samir Hussein/WireImage
Harry was inspired at the Invictus Games

"I turned around to them in many conversations and said, 'Reconciliation can't come without the truth'. I have now found out the truth, I've shared some of it with you today, a lot of it exists out there, whether people to choose to ignore it or not."

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