“Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father,” a royal insider tells PEOPLE
Prince Harry’s desire to safeguard his wife and children has exacerbated his estrangement from his father, King Charles.
When the Duke of Sussex, 39, returned to the United Kingdom in May to commemorate the tenth anniversary of one of his proudest accomplishments, the Invictus Games, his father was noticeably absent from the ceremony.
The two were unable to meet during Harry’s visit, which the prince’s spokeswoman blamed on the King’s “full schedule.” However, sources close to Harry imply a more serious concern. Harry wanted to talk about his ongoing battle for security, which he has been fighting in court for almost four years and believes Charles, 75, has the power to reinstall. (Buckingham royal will not comment on security arrangements, but a royal source tells PEOPLE that the idea that Harry’s security is in Charles’ hands is “wholly incorrect.”)
The family conflicts, which first surfaced in 2020 when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped off from their royal duties, has been defined by scathing criticism and unsolved problems. But for Harry, no one topic is more contentious than security, according to many well-placed sources in his entourage, as reported in this week’s exclusive cover story.
Despite a nice meeting between the father and son in February following King’s cancer diagnosis, their relationship has subsequently worsened. According to sources close to Prince Harry, the monarch no longer takes his son’s calls or responds to his letters.
“He gets ‘unavailable right now,’ ” says a friend of Harry’s. “His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.”
Despite the estrangement, Prince Harry is very concerned about the safety of his wife and children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, and has often requested his father for assistance, according to sources.
“Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father,” a royal insider tells PEOPLE. Another source close to the situation says, “Harry is determined to protect his own family at all costs.”
The fight has now reached a boiling point. In the ITV program Tabloids on Trial, which aired in the United Kingdom on July 25, Prince Harry expressed concern that poor press coverage could lead to a violent attack on his wife.
“All it takes is one lone actor,” he claimed, citing “genuine concerns” as the rationale for not returning Meghan, 42, Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 3, to the United Kingdom.
The Duke of Sussex has also taken the matter to court, where he was unsuccessful in restoring his taxpayer-funded protection earlier this year. (He plans to appeal.)
What is preventing Harry from obtaining the protection he desires is a source of great disagreement. The queen has no governmental power in the United Kingdom, and the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC), which acts on behalf of the government, has the authority to provide police protection.
However, Harry, whose offer to personally cover the expense of police security was also denied in court, believes that as King, Charles can intercede to ensure that such protection is provided.
The issue has formed an impassable barrier between Harry and Charles. The talk has gone from frustration to “complete silence” from the King, according to the acquaintance.
According to sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have relocated to Montecito, California, the palace is aware of what happened when Princess Diana left royal life — and immediately overtook the institution.
“Charles’ fear is a repeat of the past,” the insider said. When his wife divorced the institution, she took the headlines, overshadowed his work and became a global superstar. Seeing his son leave with his wife was not part of the plan.”
Safety has always been a key reason Meghan and Harry why they opted to leave. The Duchess of Sussex has stated that harsh news and a lack of royal support during her time as a working royal were reasons she contemplated suicide.
The couple “didn’t feel they had a choice,” according to the buddy. “The only option was to leave — for their sanity. I do think they thought if they got out of this bubble, there would be less focus on them.”
At the Sandringham Summit in January 2020, which resolved their fate as non-working royals, Prince Harry emerged from the meeting — attended by the future King Charles, Prince William, Queen Elizabeth, and palace staff — satisfied that their security would be maintained during their transition. Court documents also show that the Queen, who died on September 8, 2022, at the age of 96, considered it “imperative” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to have “effective security” following their departure. Despite this, Harry was informed a few weeks later that their police protection had been discontinued.
“The Queen made it clear that effective security was necessary due to the threats against them, but somewhere along the line there was interference,” a palace insider said.
Finally, RAVEC implemented the security reduction. Its members include the Home Office (the United Kingdom’s equivalent of Homeland Security), the Metropolitan Police, and the Royal Household. Although the King is not directly involved in RAVEC, his staff is on the committee. A government representative claims that they provide “rigorous and proportionate” security and do not reveal specifics “as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
Harry, whose team points out that the government has not updated the Sussexes’ yearly threat assessment since 2019, believes the bottleneck is his father, despite the palace’s denial.
RAVEC’s ruling may also have international repercussions. If the United Kingdom recognizes the threat to them, other countries are likely to follow suit in how they’re protected.
Faced with covering their own security expenses and having other financial support from the King withdrawn, Harry and Meghan quickly struck deals to generate income when they arrived in the United States in 2020, including Harry’s lucrative book deal for his 2023 memoir Spare and the couple’s 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
According to individuals in their circle, the option to have armed private security in the United States was a major factor in their decision to relocate to California. They cited daily social media threats, potential house incursions, and unsettling situations such as a chaotic paparazzi chase in New York City in May 2023.
“The U.K. government acknowledges numerous threats against them, but we are not privy to specific details due to lack of cooperation,” says Joe Funk, senior vice president of Torchstone Global Security, which oversees the couple’s private protection in the states.
Prince Harry, who is fifth in line to the throne, is also concerned about the public’s safety while he is away, as well as the risk to his staff.
“The staff is concerned when they travel with them,” explains a former Archewell Foundation staffer.
According to a source close to the matter, the fact that Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties should not affect their level of protection: “Working royal or not, this is the King’s son.”
Neil Basu, a former chief of counterterrorism for the Metropolitan Police, has spoken out regarding Meghan’s exposure to significant threats while in the United Kingdom, stating that both Harry and Meghan were among the royal family members with the highest threat assessments. (In recent years, several individuals have been arrested and imprisoned for making threats to the couple.)
“Harry’s military service, his global recognition and his marriage to a mixed-race woman all contribute to his high threat level,” said Basu to PEOPLE.
With both sides entrenched—and Harry’s brother Prince William, 42, clearly united with his father—reconciliation is a long shot at best.
Some palace insiders believe Harry’s memoir and public interviews have jeopardized the family’s trust in him; others argue that if he had adequate protection, he wouldn’t need to talk publicly to help pay for it. If the security issue is handled, the friend says, “It’s ‘swords down.’ ”
Indeed, nothing “would give [Harry] more happiness than being able to rekindle his bond with his father. At the end of the day,” adds the friend, “you can’t undo bloodlines. He’s not asking his dad for a nicer house or nicer cars. He’s asking because of the reality of the situation. He is at risk.”
