Prince Harry says he wants reconciliation with the royal family but his father King Charles will not speak to him over a row over his security and he does not know how long the monarch, who has cancer, will live.

Hours after losing a court battle with the United Kingdom government over his police protection, Harry gave an emotional interview to the BBC in which he said he did not think he would be able to bring his family back to the UK.

“I would love reconciliation with my family,” Harry said.

“Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff but it would be nice to reconcile.”

Harry stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California with his US wife Meghan and their two children.

Since leaving, both he and Meghan have been highly critical of the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry’s best-selling biography Spare.

Now the prince is barely on speaking terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William.

In the meantime, Buckingham Palace revealed in February that Charles was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer, although aides have been upbeat about how his treatment is progressing.

Harry’s comments came after he unsuccessfully sought to overturn a decision by the Home Office – the ministry responsible for policing – which in 2020 decided he would not automatically receive personal police protection in the UK after leaving royal life.

The prince told the BBC that he was “pretty gutted about the decision,” adding: “We thought it was going to go our way.”

In response to the Duke of Sussex’s failed legal challenge, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Explosion of reactions

The Prince’s interview has garnered strong reaction, from broadcaster Piers Morgan accusing him of trashing his family again, to royal analysis describing the turn as a “sad and sorry saga” where Harry is “bristling with anger”.

Harry, who has previously claimed that the royal institution had sacrificed him to protect other senior members, said he believed the decision over his security had been made to exert control over him, blaming his father for not doing more.

“I have had it described to me, once people knew about the facts, that this is an old-fashioned, good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up. And that’s what it feels like,” he said.

“There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands. Ultimately, this, this could, this whole thing, could be resolved through him, not necessarily by intervening but by stepping aside, allowing the experts to do what is necessary.”

Harry said some of his family would never forgive him for writing his book, and he accepted that he might not be able to bring his children, Archie and Lilibet, back to his homeland.

“I love my country, I always have done despite what some people in that country have done. I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show … my children my homeland,” he said.

QUOTES FROM PRINCE HARRY’S BBC INTERVIEW:

* RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER

“I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”

* BROADER RECONCILIATION

“Of course some members my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course they will never forgive me for lots of things. But you know, there is, I would love … reconciliation with my family … there’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. And life is precious.”

“It would be nice to have that reconciliation part. Now, if they don’t want that, that’s entirely up to them.”

* VISITING THE UNITED KINGDOM

“For the time being, it is impossible for me to take my family back to the UK safely.”

“I can’t see a world in which I will be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point.”

“I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK. Of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show you know, my children.”

* COURT CASE OVER HIS SECURITY

“There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands. Ultimately …this whole thing, could be resolved through him, not necessarily by intervening, but by stepping aside, allowing the experts to do what is necessary.”

“There have been so many disagreements, differences between me and some of my family. This current situation that has been… now ongoing for five years, with regard to human life and safety, is the sticking point. It is the only thing that’s left.”

“Security was used as leverage. I think what really worries me more than anything else about today’s decision… is that it is setting the precedent that security can be used to control members of the (royal) family. And effectively what it does is imprison other members of the family from being able to choose a different life.”

* FORGIVING

“There are things that have happened, since 2016 especially – throughout my whole life, but let’s just stick (to) since 2016, there are things that have happened that I can now forgive. I have moved past that. I can forgive my family’s involvement, my father, my brother and my stepmother. I can forgive the press to a large extent as well, for so many things that have happened. What I’m struggling to forgive and what I will probably always struggle to forgive is that a decision that was made in 2020 that affects my every single day and that is knowingly putting me and my family in harm’s way.”

* HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF

“I don’t want history to repeat itself.” “Through the disclosure process I’ve discovered that some people want history to repeat itself, which is pretty dark.”

“I’m not going to share (who) at this point. I know all the names of the people that were involved in this process. And again, you have to question why wasn’t I put through the same risk management board that everybody else was put through, including members of my family?”

—with AAP