Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in January 2020, moved to Meghan’s native Southern California, and launched Archewell Inc., a Beverly Hills-based mix of for-profit and not-for-profit business organisations. Two years later, alongside his brother William and sister-in-law Catherine, Harry jointly initiated the mental health awareness campaign «Heads Together». He was commissioned as a cornet into the Blues and Royals and served briefly alongside his older brother, William.

In March 2025, Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho resigned from their roles as patrons of Sentebale following a dispute between the charity’s trustees and the chair of the board, Sophie Chandauka. The commission later concluded that the foundation did not act unlawfully, but criticised the board of directors for expending a «substantial proportion of funds» to setting up and closing the charity. In March 2021, it was reported that the Charity Commission for England and Wales was conducting a review of the Sussex Royal organisation in a «regulatory and compliance case» regarding its conduct under charity law during dissolution. In July 2019, Harry and Meghan’s new charity was registered in England and Wales under the title «Sussex Royal The Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex». Nevertheless, the couple would collaborate with Harry’s brother and his wife on mutual projects, such as the mental health initiative Heads Together.

In April 2020, the Duke and Duchess announced that they would no longer cooperate with the Daily Mail, the Sun, the Mirror and the Express. The case was settled later that year with Splash UK agreeing to no longer take unauthorised photos of the family. The BBC wrote to Kensington Palace apologising for the «factual inaccuracy» as George’s godfather was William van Cutsem, but it did not apologise for the comment itself as it was part of the show’s «irreverent humor». Mr Justice Fancourt concluded Piers Morgan and other editors knew about the phone hacking at their publications and were involved in it.

Military ranks

Government will reinstate the Duke of Sussex’s security In the New Year, when the trial in his phone-hacking lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday comes to court. One possible version is that it could relate to time Harry might spend in the U.K.

He also spent time flying over Sydney as co-pilot of an Army Black Hawk helicopter and participated in counter-terrorism training in Sydney Harbour with Royal Australian Navy clearance divers. On 17 March 2015, Kensington Palace announced that Harry would leave the Armed Forces in June. The palace confirmed weeks later that the scheme was established in partnership with Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion. On 17 January 2014, the Ministry of Defence announced that Harry had completed his attachment to 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, and would take up a staff officer role, SO3 (Defence Engagement) in HQ London District. Harry compared operating the Apache’s weapons systems in Afghanistan to playing video games.

In June 2023, Harry testified in the court case accusing former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan of horrific personal attacks and claimed that his phone had been hacked dating back to when he was still at Eton. The BBC reported on the «scrapped case», highlighting NGN’s statement which said that the settlement agreement «drew a line under the past» and that they rejected the claims that would have been made in court about a corporate cover-up. In October 2024, the judge announced that the two sides should either settle or go to trial in January 2025 and refused to let Harry’s team include allegations that bugs were placed in rooms and cars, and trackers placed on vehicles as «no particulars whatsoever of such allegations» were provided.

In January 2020 Harry and Meghan announced that they would “step back” from their royal duties and become “financially independent.” In addition, they planned to divide their time between the United Kingdom and North America. In October 2008, it was announced that Harry would follow his brother, father and uncle in learning to fly military helicopters. As was the case with his brother, the royal family and the tabloid press agreed Harry would be allowed to study free from intrusion in exchange for occasional photograph opportunities in what became known as the «pressure cooker agreement». It did, however, see Harry follow in his elder brother’s footsteps and the Spencer family’s, as both his mother’s father and her brother attended Eton.

Prince William and Princess Kate share Christmas card, Harry and Meghan adapt romance book, and more

In December 2025, it was announced that, for the first time since April 2019, RAVEC would reassess Harry’s threat level. Following the first court hearing of the case by the High Court, it was revealed that Harry had ‘exceptional status’ and the Royal and VIP Executive Committee (RAVEC) still determined his personal protective security on a case-by-case basis. The Government of Canada announced RCMP security would not be provided after March 2020 when the couple’s status changed. In June 2023, Harry broke royal protocol by criticising the UK government in his witness statement to a court. He adds in his memoir that he smoked cannabis at Eton and in Kensington Palace gardens, but he later told a court that «he never smoked in his father’s house». The announcement prompted generally positive comments about having a mixed-race person as a member of the royal family, especially in regard to Commonwealth countries with populations of blended or native ancestry.

  • Chandauka reported the charity to the Charity Commission due to what she described as «poor governance, weak executive management, abuse of power, bullying, harassment, misogyny, misogynoir – and the coverup that ensued».
  • These terms were described by the Leader of the Opposition at the time David Cameron as «unacceptable», and by The Daily Telegraph as «racist».
  • In May 2025, Harry was interviewed by Nada Tawfik of the BBC, during which he reflected on his loss of taxpayer-funded security and his ongoing estrangement from his family.
  • «Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course they will never forgive me for lots of things. But you know … I would love reconciliation with my family … There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. And life is precious,» Harry told the BBC.
  • After several years of the Duke of Sussex’s campaigning — including a high-profile court battle which he lost — a full-scale review was granted in December.
  • It did, however, see Harry follow in his elder brother’s footsteps and the Spencer family’s, as both his mother’s father and her brother attended Eton.
  • At that point in his year, Harry’s relationship with Britain—and indeed his father—appeared at rock bottom, but that would change over the course of the rest of the year.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s closest advisor quits as head of their charity

Determined King Charles III is dead-set on reuniting his fractured family and bringing son Prince Harry back into the royal fold after the cancer-stricken monarch was given a new lease on life, sources say. He is currently fifth-in-line to the throne, although he is no longer a working member of the British royal family after giving up his senior role in 2020. Then, in December, the full-scale review of the Duke of Sussex’s security by the official body that assesses how royals and VIPs are guarded commenced. Harry lost his full security cover when he and Meghan stepped back from frontline royal duties in 2020. Prince Harry’s fight to have his official, armed full-time security reinstated when he visits the U.K.

He ended his note saying that after five years in LA, «It’s time for my family to return to London. When I pass the baton to the team leading Archewell Philanthropies in the coming months, I’ll do so with immense pride and optimism for what lies ahead.» «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, who recently lost a legal battle with the British government over his security, said in May that he wanted to repair his family relationships despite past emotional tensions. Harry had some particularly barbed comments for Charles and his elder brother, heir-to-the-throne Prince William, leading to a total breakdown in his relationship with his family.

Prince Harry Police Security Defeat

In May 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex together with Harry’s brother and sister-in-law launched Shout, the UK’s first 24/7 text messaging service for those who suffer from mental issues. In July 2018, the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced that the Duke of Sussex and British singer Elton John were about to launch a global coalition called MenStar that would focus «on treating HIV infections in men». Accusations of abuse by the charity surfaced publicly in 2022 and 2024, when reports claimed that rangers managed by African Parks had been torturing, beating, raping, and forcibly displacing members of the indigenous Baka community.

In July 2021, it was announced that Harry was set to publish his memoir Spare via Penguin Random House, with Harry reportedly earning an advance of at least $20 million. In October 2021, Harry and Meghan announced their partnership with Ethic, a sustainable investment firm based in New York City, which also manages the couple’s investments. It was later announced that the series, titled The Me You Can’t See, would be released on 21 May 2021. In April 2019, it was announced that Harry was working as co-creator and executive producer on a documentary series about mental health together with Oprah Winfrey, which was initially set to air in 2020 on Apple TV+. In April 2024, it was announced that Archewell Productions is working with Netflix to produce two new shows – on lifestyle and on polo – for the streaming platform. In June 2023, Spotify announced they would not proceed with the deal, cancelling Archetypes which had run for a single season of 12 episodes.

The brothers also received the original lyrics and score of «Candle in the Wind», by Bernie Taupin and Elton John, as performed by John at Diana’s funeral. Harry and his brother William inherited the «bulk» of the £12.9 million left by their mother on their respective 30th birthdays, a figure that had grown since her 1997 death to £10 million each in 2014. His mother died in a car crash in Paris the following year while he and William were staying with their father at Balmoral Castle. Diana wanted her sons to have a broader range of experiences and a better understanding of ordinary life than previous royal children. Harry and his elder brother, William, were raised at Kensington Palace in London, and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.

His appearance marked the first time a member of the royal family had been cross-examined in court since Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, appeared as a witness in court in 1891. Harry faced difficulties with obtaining and maintaining publicly funded security, both in Canada and the United Kingdom, after he and Meghan announced their self-demotion within the royal family. At the time of the announcement of Harry and Meghan’s decision to «step back» as senior members of the royal family in 2020, 95% of the couple’s income derived from the £2.3 million given to them annually by Harry’s father, Charles, as part of his income from the Duchy of Cornwall. In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess announced that they were stepping back from their role as senior members of the royal family, and would balance their time between the United Kingdom and North America. The last time the father and son saw each other was in February 2024 when the Duke of Sussex flew to the UK after the monarch announced his cancer diagnosis.

  • In March 2020, the couple took Splash UK to court after the Duchess and their son were photographed without permission during a «private family outing» while staying in Canada.
  • In July 2019, Harry and Meghan’s new charity was registered in England and Wales under the title «Sussex Royal The Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex».
  • Despite the palace congratulating the Duke and Duchess on the birth of their daughter Lilibet in June 2021, a few days later the BBC reported that Harry and Meghan had not sought the permission of the Queen before naming their daughter with her personal family nickname.
  • Home Office ordered a security risk assessment to determine if California-based Harry — who ceased being a working royal in 2020 — should have government-funded protection on demand reinstated for him, his wife and their two children while in the U.K.
  • Like his brother and father, he has participated in polo matches to raise money for charitable causes.

Writing for The Guardian, Stephen Bates stated that Harry’s «megaphone diplomacy isn’t working» and «his private security needs are probably not near the top of anybody’s priorities». Referring to the press as «the devil», he also alleged that «certain members» of his family were «in the bed» with them to «rehabilitate their image». It was alleged that the Sun had made two payments amounting to £4,000 to the partner of a royal official in relation to stories published in June and July 2019 which detailed the nannying and god-parenting arrangements for Harry and Meghan’s son Archie.

However, his popularity fell after stepping back from royal duties, and it plummeted after the release of his controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey, his Netflix docuseries, and his memoir. After his marriage, Harry’s popularity skyrocketed above all the other royals as he was deemed likable by 77 per cent of respondents in a poll of 3,600 Britons conducted by statistics and polling company YouGov. In June 2022 and on their way to California after the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Harry and Meghan boarded a private jet that was estimated to have emitted «ten times more carbon than flying commercial». Harry received backlash again in August 2021 and 2022 for taking a two-hour flight on private jets between California and Aspen, Colorado, to participate in an annual charity polo tournament. Harry referred to the incident as the «CBE scandal» in December 2021 and stated that he severed ties with Mahfouz in 2015 after expressing «growing concerns» about his motives, though aides from his father’s household denied having any discussions with him regarding Mahfouz. Mahfouz had met Harry in 2013 and 2014 and donated £50,000 to his charity Sentebale and £10,000 to Walking With The Wounded, of which Harry is patron.

Do you have a question about Charles and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? However, the court ruled the Home Office had every right to design a bespoke approach to Harry’s security, reviewing whether to give him protection on a case-by-case basis harry walton before each visit. It all comes at a time when Britain has returned to being a key focus for Harry, following a high profile visit in September, a love letter to England in November, and a court case fast approaching in January.

Previously, William and Harry’s affairs had been handled by their father’s office at Clarence House in central London. Judge Carl Nichols ordered for the redacted versions of the court documents to be released by 18 March 2025. In the same month, Conservative politician and MP Johnny Mercer, who was leading the efforts to waive visa fees for foreign-born UK veterans and their families, announced in the Commons that the Duke of Sussex was supportive of their proposal and viewed it as «morally right» and not as «a political intervention». Harry was the subject of a prank by the Russian comedy duo Vovan and Lexus, who posed as climate activist Greta Thunberg and her father during two phone calls on New Year’s Eve and 22 January 2020.