Prince Harry’s dramatic High Court defeat has been ‘the final nail in the coffin’ for his relationship with his father King Charles despite Harry publicly saying he wants a reconciliation.

The Duke of Sussex said he was ‘devastated’ following the Court of Appeal’s decision last week to strike out his case to have automatic police protection whenever he is in the UK because it means he cannot bring his family to England.

However, his decision to speak to the BBC in a wide-ranging interview in which he said he does not know how long his father has left has further damaged his already fractured relationship with his family according to royal insiders.

Prince Harry told the BBC last week that his father is not speaking to him ‘because of the court case’, however, sources close to the monarch say the stand-off runs deeper.

‘The relationship had been severely compromised before this court case. The Oprah interview in which Harry and Meghan threw the family under the bus and the many things that Harry said in Spare have been incredibly damaging,’ says an insider. ‘Very simply Harry has behaved in such a way that his father cannot trust that what is said between them will remain private. There has been a complete breakdown of trust.’

Harry, who revealed details of private conversations between his father and brother Prince William in his autobiography, went against his father’s advice and pursued the Home Office through the courts after his and Meghan’s government funded police protection was removed in 2020 when they stepped down as working royals and moved to America.

RAVEC, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee responsible for co ordinating security arrangements for members of the royal family agreed that the Prince would get tax payer funded police protection in the UK on a case-by-case basis, however Prince Harry took the case to the Court of Appeal arguing that he had been unfairly singled out and required round the clock police protection whenever he comes to the UK
‘It’s the same old case of Harry wanting his cake and eating it,’ says royal source.

‘His father’s advice has always been to avoid court, but Harry was hell bent on litigation. Now he has lost, and the only winners are the lawyers. It’s hard not to feel sorry for him because he looks like a broken man who has lost everything, but this has been of his own making and to be honest the family have other things to focus on at present.’ 

The king was said to be particularly upset that Harry spoke about his illness during the BBC interview, which the family friend described as ‘appalling.’ ‘It’s given more speculation than is required to the King’s health,’ adds the source.

Buckingham Palace has insisted that the King continues to tolerate his cancer treatment well and that his prognosis is positive, however, Harry’s intervention over his father’s health has fuelled a fresh wave of speculation.

The royals were also said to be anxious that Harry’s headline making interview did not detract from the 80th VE day celebrations. The royal family was front and central during the four-day long occasion which included a military procession, fly past and tea party for veterans at Buckingham Palace and a Service of Thanksgiving and concert.

But while his no holds barred interview was seemingly intended to earn him public sympathy, recent polls suggest the prince’s popularity is at an all-time low while the King, who is battling cancer remains one of the most popular members of the family. According to a recent YouGov poll carried out by The Times newspaper Prince William is the most popular member of the royal family in the States.

According to LA based commentator Kinsey Schofield, both Harry and Meghan’s popularity has nosedived in the states.

‘I think Americans are oversaturated with the Sussexes right now. Americans were shocked by Prince Harry’s BBC interview. Meghan has made a real effort to change public perception that the Sussexes are angry and stuck in the past. We’ve recently seen Meghan doing the media rounds and between The Drew Barrymore Show and Time100 Summit, she was telling us they were the happiest they’ve ever been. Harry’s interview reflected the complete opposite. He seemed frustrated and fearful and stewing about a decision he made back in 2020… The messaging is so inconsistent that I think it begins to negatively impact the audience’s trust.’

Sources close to the King say that while Prince William has ‘zero interest’ in reconciling with his brother, Charles is keen for a truce.

‘The king does not like conflict, and he would love for this all to be resolved but Harry has to earn the trust back. The ball is in his court in that respect. The King loves his son, and he is very sad he has not spent any time with Archie and Lilibet, but Harry hasn’t made a reconciliation easy. That said the door is always open as far as the King is concerned. He’s a magnanimous man, not a malicious man but his priority is the preservation of the monarchy.’