Grievances and forgiveness were both on display in Prince Harry’s raw TV interview

Prince Harry gestures as he arrives at the High Court in London, England, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

LONDO — The rift between Prince Harry and his family has burst into the open again with the prince’s raw television interview after losing a court case over his security.

In a long and at times emotional conversation, the 40-year-old prince said he wants reconciliation, while re-airing grievances against the royal family, the U.K. government and the media.

Here are key takeaways from Friday’s BBC interview:

A security feud has deepened the royal rift

Harry said his father, King Charles III, won’t speak to him because of “this security stuff” -- a legal wrangle over protection for the prince when he is in Britain.

“This, at the heart of it, is a family dispute,” he said.

Harry has been estranged from his family since he and his wife Meghan quit royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States, alleging hostility and racist attitudes by the press and royal establishment. Harry’s tell-all 2023 memoir “Spare,” stuffed with private details and embarrassing revelations, made things worse.

But Harry said what’s souring the relationship now is a decision to remove his police protection detail after he stopped being a working royal. On Friday the Court of Appeal in London rejected Harry’s bid to restore the protection, saying a government committee was justified in deciding that security should be assessed on a case-by-case basis whenever Harry visits the U.K.

Harry blamed the palace, alleging that the decision to withdraw his security had been made at the direction of royal officials, who sit on the committee alongside police and government representatives. He said they were “knowingly putting me and my family in harm’s way,” hoping that the sense of threat “would force us to come back.”

He suggested his father was part of the problem, saying he’d asked the king “to step out of the way and let the experts do their job.”

Harry highlighted health concerns about the king

King Charles, 76, has been treated for an undisclosed cancer for more than a year. Buckingham Palace has given infrequent updates, and has not disclosed what form of cancer the king has.

Harry, who has met his father only once, briefly, since his diagnosis early last year, said “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”

He held out little hope of another meeting soon.

“The only time I come back to the U.K., is, sadly, for funerals or court cases,” he said.

After taking several months off last year, Charles has returned to a full slate of public duties. This week he told a reception for cancer charities that being diagnosed was “a daunting and at times frightening experience.” He added: “I can vouch for the fact that it can also be an experience that brings into sharp focus the very best of humanity.”

Harry fears for his life and safety

Harry has well-founded concerns for the safety of himself and his family.

He is fifth in line to the throne, behind his brother William and William’s three children. He spent 10 years in the British army, serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Harry’s lawyer said in court papers that al-Qaida had published a document that said Harry’s assassination would please Muslims.

Harry said that before 2020 he was placed in the highest tier of at-risk royals, alongside his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.

Since then, he has been stripped of taxpayer-funded police protection, and also denied permission to pay for it himself, leaving private security his only option.

He said that is not as good as police protection, which is provided for life to “people who leave public office,” such as former prime ministers.

“I can never leave the royal family,” he said. “I was born into those risks, and they’ve only increased over time.”

He claimed that “some people want history to repeat itself,” an apparent reference to the death of his mother Princess Diana. She was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.

He worries his children will lose part of their heritage

Harry, Meghan and their children Archie, 5, and 3-year-old Lilibet, currently live in California, and Harry said he “can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K.”

The prince said he loves Britain and “it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show my children my homeland.”

Harry claimed that he and his family are endangered when visiting Britain because of hostility aimed at him and Meghan on social media and through relentless hounding by news media.

Harry wants reconciliation with his family -- but it may not be imminent

Harry’s explosive memoir “Spare” scattered bitterness and blame at Charles, Queen Camilla -- Harry’s stepmother -- and his elder brother William.

In the interview, he said he could forgive his family, and even the British press that he reviles and has repeatedly sued.

“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry said.

Historian Anthony Seldon said Harry had chosen his words deliberately to signal he “wants to make a new start.”

“There will be no more spiteful books,” Seldon told Sky News. “He has signaled he wants to be back in a way that needs to be worked out.”

But Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said it’s hard to see how reconciliation can happen.

“He clearly feels aggrieved at the outcome of this legal action, but there is a great deal to be gained by maintaining a dignified silence,” Little said. “Sadly, as we know from past events, this isn’t Harry’s way of doing things.”

Article by Jill Lawless.