Prince Harry's new security move 'bodes ill' for duke's key hope - expert

Prince Harry risks endangering his ongoing reconciliation with his father King Charles as he has made a fresh enquiry regarding his UK taxpayer-funded security rights, an expert believes. The Duke of Sussex, who quit senior royal life in 2020, has written to the Home Secretary Shabhana Mahmood to request a risk assessment, a source close to the prince said.

This request, which has reportedly been lodged with the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (Ravec) - a committee which is overseen by the Home Office - has been made just months after Harry lost his court appeal regarding his UK security, which was first downgraded in 2020 when he moved to America. The request was made shortly after Ms Mahmood was appointed as new Home Secretary, following Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet reshuffle in September.

Speaking about the message, a 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 should be conducted each year. The last one for the duke was in 2019."

This move, coming after the duke lost his court appeal in May, could put new strain on family relations, especially as he previously claimed the security matters and court case were part of the reason he and the King were not talking.

This has since changed, with Harry and his father, 76, having met up at Clarence House for a private tea just last month.

However, now that news of this request has emerged, one royal expert fears it could hamper the prince's efforts to fully reconcile with his father.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said: "Although legal avenues have now been exhausted, his appeal to the Home Secretary revives the issue and may be followed, as he stated in his interview with the BBC, by an appeal to the Prime Minister."

He went on to claim: "The tragic death of Princess Diana and the way it traumatised Harry clearly influences his fears for his family. Recent incidents involving a stalker will have exacerbated those fears."

Mr Fitzwilliams added: "Harry, after he lost his appeal, went on the BBC for half an hour, in an emotional interview where he appeared to suggest his father could have arranged this issue for him and that courtiers were plotting against him.

"He wants himself and his family to be on a special list of protected persons, but it would not be proper for the monarch to intervene on this issue."

Mr Fitzwilliams then said that some of Harry's behaviour recently has been "unpredictable", including a recent interview with The Guardian, and that this new request to Ravec, and any moves the duke makes regarding his security situation, could damage the relationship he is rebuilding with the King.

He said: "He (Harry) may get the review he wants. However his behaviour bodes ill for his hopes for reconciliation with his father."