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Prince Harry is seeking to repair his relationship with the royals – and the UK government – in a bid to win greater security for his family on visits to Britain, it is understood.
The prince begins a four-day solo trip to the UK this week – it will be his longest stay since returning for the funeral of his grandmother, Elizabeth II, in 2022.
According to reports quoting friends of Harry, he is keen to make more frequent visits to Britain from his home in California – and also bring his wife and children with him.
They told The Sunday Times he wants to “bring his family back to the UK” and be able to show his children “where he grew up”.
“He’s not given up hope on bringing his family back to the UK,” they said.
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“He wants to be able to show his children where he grew up. He wants them to know their family here. He really would like to come back to the UK much more.”
In May, Harry said he “misses the UK” but that since losing his legal case with the Home Office over his level of security, he was not planning on returning with his family.
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“I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point,” he told the BBC.
“And the things they’re going to miss, well, everything … I miss the UK.”
Harry and Meghan with their newborn baby son at Windsor Castle in May 2019(POOL/AFP via Getty)
Despite losing the security case, the Times suggests the prince may now undertake a different approach: “Those close to the prince say the government should expect private ‘lobbying’ from the prince on the matter to continue.”
As well as security concerns, the Sussexes’ relationship with various key members of the royal family is an obstacle to rebuilding bridges with Britain.
The King, who is at Balmoral and still receiving regular cancer treatment, “misses his son”, according to an interview with his former personal butler, Grant Harrold, in the New York Post.
Nonetheless, Prince Harrytold the BBC in May that the King “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff”.
He added: “Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive lots of things. But I would love a reconciliation with my family.”
Prince Harry has not met with his father, the King, since February 2024, when he returned for a 30-minute meeting following the monarch’s cancer diagnosis.
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Another potential obstacle the prince faces may be his own brother. According to a report in The Daily Beast, quoting a friend of Prince William, the Prince of Wales, does not believe the King should meet with his youngest son. “He thinks a Harry meeting is a terrible, terrible idea,” they reportedly said.
A meeting between Prince Harry and the King has not yet been officially scheduled for this trip, but the prince will make a number of charity appearances on a trip said to be “jam-packed with hardly any downtime”.