Prince Harry 'frightened' as he makes desperate calls to King Charles

Whenever Prince Harry returns to the UK, there's always speculation about whether he'll meet with his father, King Charles. This year, Harry has made several trips back to his homeland, including a few weeks ago for a charity awards ceremony.

His last visit, which is believed to have included a face-to-face meeting with Charles, was shortly after the monarch's cancer diagnosis. Due to the rushed nature of the visit, Charles could only spend less than an hour with his younger son in London before returning to Sandringham to rest.

Harry's next trip to the UK was several months later in May, when he attended a special service at St Paul's Cathedral to mark the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games. Sources say that prior to this trip, Harry requested a meeting with the King, who responded with a simple four-word reply: 'if he is able'.

"Harry has kept in regular contact with his father on several occasions and made no secret of his desire to see him when he can," a source revealed. "He has been especially concerned about him and hopes the King will be well and able to see him as planned."

However, it turned out that there was no meeting on this occasion. This raised eyebrows at the time, with a statement from Harry suggesting his father was too busy to see him and reports later claiming the King had offered his son a place to stay in a Royal residence, reports the Mirror.

However, sources close to the Sussexes at the time claimed that Harry's attempts to discuss his security arrangements with his father were being met with silence, as his calls to his dad were going unanswered. The Duke has been embroiled in a long-running dispute over his security when he visits the UK, having automatically lost the right to police protection when he stepped down as a working Royal.

Despite losing subsequent court battles to have it reinstated for himself, wife Meghan, and their two children, Harry is planning an appeal. According to PEOPLE magazine, Harry believes his father could help resolve the issue, although a palace source has dismissed this as "wholly inaccurate".

A friend of Harry's told the magazine: "He gets 'unavailable right now'. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King's health, but those calls go unanswered too."

Another friend added: "Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father," while another source said: "Harry is determined to protect his own family at all costs."

The dispute began with a February 2020 decision by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec), which ruled that Harry would no longer receive the "same degree" of publicly-funded protection when in the country, due to a change in his 'status' after he stopped being a "full-time working member of the royal family ", a judge was told. In February, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane dismissed the duke's claim that he was "singled out" and treated "less favourably" by the decision, concluding that Ravec's approach was neither irrational nor procedurally unfair.

Following the verdict, a legal representative for Harry stated that the Duke "hopes to obtain justice from the Court of Appeal".