The Duke of Sussex’s renewal of his battle with the government over security risks derailing his reconciliation with the King.
Sources close to the monarch said Prince Harry’s decision to lobby Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, asking for his taxpayer-funded security in the UK to be reviewed “complicates things for the King”.
Harry currently receives “bespoke” protection on a case-by-case basis when he visits the UK after he lost his right to automatic round-the-clock security when he stepped back from royal life and moved to America in 2020.
His letter to Mahmood, which was revealed on Friday, will once again make the King wary of contact with his younger son.
“It’s not going to help matters,” said a royal source. “We’re back to where we were.”
In September, the King, 76, and the duke, 41, met for the first time in 19 months, over a private 50-minute tea at Clarence House, following Harry’s pleas for “reconciliation” with his family after losing his legal battle with the government in May.
Prince Harry arrives at Clarence House on his visit last month
BEN MONTGOMERY/GETTY IMAGES
A royal source said: “The King cannot and will not lobby, that’s inappropriate. His representatives cannot advocate for policy outcomes, particularly in relation to his own family. 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.”
The source added: “If you put yourself in the mind of a father who is repeatedly told he should and could intervene, that is not very helpful, complicates matters and shows a lack of understanding about the reality of the situation.”
But sources close to the duke have repeatedly said he feels his father should intervene in the process. In an interview after the Court of Appeal ruling against him in May, the duke described the judgment as “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch up”, and told the BBC: “I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”
It is understood the King and his advisers hoped that the Court of Appeal ruling would draw a line under the issue and help pave the way for a less fraught relationship with his father, who is still receiving weekly cancer treatment.
But last week, a source close to the duke said he had lodged a request with Ravec asking for a risk-assessment to be conducted alongside his letter to Mahmood.
The source told The Times: “While he realises this will not be top of the incoming secretary’s in-tray, it is something which should have happened a long time ago. We have had the can kicked down the road for quite a while now but all he’s asking is for Ravec to abide by its own rules, which state that an RMB [risk management board] should be conducted each year. The last one for the duke was in 2019.”
Last month, sources close to the duke said he would continue to “privately lobby” on the matter, in the hope his security levels would be increased so he could visit the UK more often and bring his family with him. He said he does not feel it is safe to bring Meghan, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, three, here without increased security.
The Duchess of Sussex posted this picture with Princess Lilibet to mark International Day of the Girl
Ravec oversees the level of protection for the royal family and key public figures in the UK. Its membership includes the Home Office, Metropolitan Police and members of the royal household, including Sir Clive Alderton, the King’s private secretary, and a member of the Prince of Wales’s team, who help advise an independent chair.
Last week, it was reported that a stalker came within feet of the duke during his four-day visit to the UK in September for a series of charity engagements.
After the Court of Appeal’s ruling, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”
Follow