Prince Harry criticised for saying 'I don't know how much longer my father has' in TV interview

Prince Harry has been criticised for fuelling speculation about the King's health, after saying he does not "know how much longer my father has left".

In an interview with BBC News after losing a legal challenge over his security in the UK, the Duke of Sussex said he wants a "reconciliation" with the Royal Family - but claims the King "won't speak to me".

He said: "There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family".

"Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things but... there's no point in continuing to fight anymore."

He added: "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."

Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to the late Queen, told Sky News that Buckingham Palace will be "raising their eyes heavenwards" in reaction to the interview.

"Prince Harry is saying 'I don't know how long my father has' - that's going to cause real concern and more speculation in the media and the wider public about what his diagnosis is, which is incredibly unhelpful going forward," she told Sky's Sophy Ridge.

She added: "What you don't want to do is have your private life played out in the media. So if you truly want reconciliation, you'll do it in private, not in a BBC News interview."

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Elsewhere in the interview, Harry said he had now "forgiven" the Royal Family - but added 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.

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.

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".

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.

Harry 'let down' by ruling

In the interview, Prince Harry 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.

He 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."

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Duke: PM should 'step in'

The duke also said the situation was "initiated under a previous government" and said he would ask Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to "step in".

He said he would ask Ms 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.

'All I've been asking for is safety'

Later on Friday evening, Harry released a written statement attacking Ravec for failing to do an annual risk assessment, and added that legal proceedings "have revealed to me that this basic duty of care was not and is not applied to me".

He again said he would write to Ms Cooper to "ask her to urgently examine the matter and review the Ravec process" and added the legal action has been "a last resort, but one that has uncovered shocking truths".

"I remain committed to a life of public service," he said.

"This has been and will always be, my life's work, and when you strip away the noise, you'll be able to hear, all I've been asking for is safety."

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