Prince Harry is ‘putting reconciliation with King Charles at risk’ by fighting government to get taxpayer-funded security, insiders claim
Prince Harry’s renewed battle with the government over his need for taxpayer-funded security could risk derailing the chance of a reconciliation with the King.
On Friday, the Duke of Sussex, 41, asked the Home Secretary for increased security but his new plea ‘complicates things for the King,’ a royal source told The Times.
At the moment, Harry has ‘bespoke’ protection on a case-by-case basis when he visits the UK after he lost his automatic 24/7 security after stepping back from royal life in 2020.
He has since submitted a formal request to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures and shortly after her appointment, wrote to Shabana Mahmood.
‘It’s not going to help matters,’ the source said. ‘We’re back to where we were.’
In September, Harry met with his father for the first time in 19 months over a 50-minute tea at Clarence House.
It followed his pleas for reconciliation with his family after losing his legal battle with the government in May.
A royal source added: ‘The King cannot and will not lobby, that’s inappropriate. His representatives cannot advocate for policy outcomes, particularly in relation to his own family.
Prince Harry’s renewed battle with the government over his need for taxpayer-funded security could risk derailing the chance of a reconciliation with the King
Prince Harry has asked for reconciliation with his family after losing his legal battle with the government in May
‘The royal household representative on the Royal and VIP executive committee [Ravec], overseen by the Home Office, is not there to advocate a position for a member of the royal family. They are purely there as a liaison to the household.’
Despite moving to the US and stepping back from royal public engagements, Harry said the decision to revoke his security was ‘difficult to swallow’.
Following the appeal, he said he ‘can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK’.
The 41-year-old urged Keir Starmer to intervene and warned that the royal family’s power over security means it ‘can be used to control’ family members.
He also said he would ask then-home secretary Yvette Cooper to ‘look at this very, very carefully’.
But last week, a source close to the duke said he had asked Ravec for a risk-assessment alongside the letter to Mahmood.
Ravec, whose members include the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and members of the royal household, oversees the level of protection the royal family and key public figures are given in the UK.
It was reported a female stalker entered a ‘secure zone’ at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in west London when the prince was attending the WellChild Awards on September 9.
She was reportedly found hiding in a hotel toilet ‘mumbling odd comments’ about the Duke just 20 minutes before he arrived at a charity event.
She was allegedly pictured next to his car after she was thrown out.
Just two days later she was seen near the prince at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies.
The woman is believed to have followed Harry around the globe, including during his three day trip with the Duchess of Sussex to Nigeria in May 2024.
The prince’s letter, which was sent before the two incidents last month.
