Harry loses appeal against UK government over security detail as the Palace responds

In a new interview, Prince Harry has issued a desperate plea to the royals after losing his appeal against the UK government as Buckingham Palace breaks its silence. See the video.

Prince Harry has hit out at his father and said they don’t speak while claiming he doesn’t know “how much longer” he has to live, in a bombshell interview released shortly after he lost his court appeal over his right to security.

The BBC released an emotional interview with the Duke of Sussex on Friday afternoon (Saturday AEDT) after the UK Court of Appeal published a 21-page judgment that dismissed his appeal over his claims he is entitled to permanent security when he and his family visit Britain.

Prince Harry told BBC News - in a sit-down TV interview in California - that he wants to mend his broken relationship with his family.

“I would love reconciliation with my family, there’s no point with continuing to fight anymore, as I said life is precious,” he said.

Prince Harry has hit out at his father and said they don’t speak in a bombshell BBC interview.

“I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.

“There have been so many disagreements between me and some of my family.

“This current situation that has been ongoing for five years with regards to human life and safety is the sticking point, it is the ongoing 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”.

King Charles, 76, continues to recover from his ongoing cancer battle after he was diagnosed in February last year.

The prince also said he, “can’t see a world where I will be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point”.

“I love my country, I always have done despite what some people in that country have done,” the 40-year-old said.

“I miss the UK, I miss parts of the UK, of course I do”.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Archie and Lilibet in their 2021 Christmas Card . Picture: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

In response to Prince Harry’s complaints about his security grievances a Palace spokesperson said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Prince Harry flew from California to attend the two-day court hearing in London last month and fought to have last year’s High Court decision overturned that allowed the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) to downgrade his security.

In the court judgment by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean and Lord Justice Edis said the Duke of Sussex made “powerful” arguments about threats he and his family faced but it failed to “translate into a legal argument”.

His security protection alongside his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 3, was changed after they had made the decision to withdraw from official royal duties on January 8, 2020, and relocate to Canada and the US.

Instead they were given “bespoke” security arrangements once their travel plans for any visits to the UK were made known to RAVEC.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex walks with a security detail as he arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice, Britain's High Court, in central London in April. Picture: AFP

In 2023 Prince Harry’s explosive memoir, Spare, he detailed private disputes between him and his brother, Prince William, whom he claimed he had an argument with in 2019 and it turned physical.

Following his court loss on Friday, it is unclear what costs are involved in the case and whether the Duke of Sussex will have to pay for both sides given he lost the appeal.

During the court appeal Prince Harry’s barrister Shaheed Fatima KC told the hearing: “There is a person who is sitting behind (Prince Harry) whose safety, security, life is at stake”.

A display the book "Spare", by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Picture: AFP

Full-time security is provided to members of the royal family including King Charles and Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children.

In arguments outlined in court documents, Prince Harry’s lawyers said: “This appeal concerns the most fundamental right - to safety and security of (a) person.”

After the court case concluded in April, Prince Harry told British newspaper The Telegraph that the moment he was informed his security was being withdrawn it was “difficult to swallow”, amid a rift with his father, King Charles.

“We were trying to create this happy house,” he said.

He also said in the interview that his “worst fears have been confirmed” after secret evidence was given in court and without the media and public present in the hearing.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (front row C) posing for a photograph during a visit to the Superhumans Centre in Lviv, Ukraine on April 10, 2025. Picture: AFP

Immediately after Prince Harry attended the court hearing in London he made a surprise visit to Ukraine where he met with military personnel and civilians.

He was ridiculed in the media by some commentators who questioned why he visited a country in the middle of the war if he was concerned about his safety.

Originally published as Harry loses appeal against UK government over security detail as the Palace responds