Russell Myers: 'Prince Harry's humiliation over Buckingham Palace stay and court drama prove his battles with King and country must stop'

Another trip back “home”, another devastating loss in court and more questions over his shattered relationship with his family. Once again the circus is in town and Prince Harry is the ringmaster. Or perhaps not. The Duke of Sussex ’s latest visit to the UK was supposed to be centred on the purpose and public service he proclaimed would be the foundation of his new life after quitting the royal family. Yet, far from being able to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution”, the duke can’t even muster a bed at an empty palace for the night. Quite what Harry’s aim has been these past six years is anyone’s guess. There have been countless times during that period when relations with his family have sunk beyond measure. Even so, Harry has spoken about wanting meetings, apologies and reconciliation from the very people he has dedicated himself to besmirching for financial gain. Nevertheless, he continues to rely on his father’s good will to maintain a relationship and connection to an institution he has blamed for his unhappiness before and since leaving it all behind. Even before he landed on Monday evening, Harry’s visit had become overshadowed by a fresh row over Buckingham Palace accommodation, unresolved security concerns and the enduring breakdown in his relationships with King Charles and his brother, Prince William. While it is almost impossible for most of us to seek common ground with a family with immense wealth and privilege, what is abundantly clear from recent events is that they are not immune to the types of family drama that befalls many. What is most surprising, however, is this family’s very public descent into a plot that has more in common with a Christmas episode of Eastenders than an institution responsible for upholding the values of a nation. Harry’s devotion to litigation since leaving his royal role, be that against the British press or government over his right to taxpayer funded security which he has been denied, has set him on a collision course with his family whose whole existence relies on the support of both institutions, as well as the public. The duke has done his best to rail against one and all, as well incur the wrath of his loved ones with a series of devatsting barbs in his explosive memoir and relentless broadcast interviews. So much so, that this week of all weeks, all of Harry’s worlds have collided to devatsting effect. He has travelled to Britain alone, without his wife, Meghan, or their children, Archie and Lilibet. The King’s hopes of spending quality time with his grandchildren have almost certainly been dashed. The result is a reflection of his long-running concerns about the level of protection available to his family when they are in the UK. The refusal to allow him to stay at a royal residence, despite being offered the opportunity on multiple occasions, is a consequence of not having any respect for the institution for updating them with his plans. Today’s outright dismissal of his latest insanely expensive litigation against the British press, while attempting to shift the focus back onto his charity work for his maiden engagements this week, only underlines how many balls Harry has up in the air at one time. It must be utterly exhausting, not to mention totally consuming. The result of the High Court judgement in his unlawful information gathering case against the publishers of the Daily Mail, regardless of how it may have fallen for Harry, created an impossible situation for Buckingham Palace. Faced with the very real prospect of the former royal lashing out at another “establishment stitch up”, while a guest of the King at royal HQ, the duke was told there is no room for him at the 240 bedroom inn. The feeling is Harry just doesn’t get it - and perhaps he never will. The situation he now finds himself in is extraordinary. Faced with an expected legal bill of millions of pounds, he has had to put a brave face on while stepping onto a stage in London to talk about his charitable endevours. The very endevours his brother William was demonstrating just a few miles away at a west London school. The bread and butter of royal life. Again, in the capital, his father had been locked in meetings all day with aides going through his diary of events for the week, shining a light on communities around the country he serves. The Queen and Princess of Wales have also been on public engagements this week, highlighting children's literacy and the incredible work at the world leading Evelina Children's Hospital. This is what the royals do and a far cry from consuming oneself with rifts and rows. Far from his triumphant announcement just days ago that his wife and children would be accompanying him for his reconciliation tour, Meghan, Archie and Lilibet are still stationed in Portugal, from where the family holidayed last week, while uncertainty remains over whether they will make any of Harry’s UK trip. For all of this, one can’t help thinking that none of this needed to happen - and certainly not as publicly as what has occurred. Whether the King has any time to meet his son during his brief time in the capital before he is due to be in Birmingham from Thursday is anyone’s guess at this stage. Such is the continued fractiousness of their relationship, Harry has spent less than an hour with his father in two years. By any measure that is incredibly sad. He was reduced to a mere 50 minutes with him, including being driven in and out of the gates of Clarence House in London last September. Their previous meeting, by strict appointment, lasted just half an hour, when Harry rushed from his home in California to the UK a day after the King announced he had cancer in February 2024. In a BBC interview last May following his loss at the Court of Appeal Harry on the subject of reconciliation with his family, Harry said: “There's no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious.” After this latest round of humiliation for the duke, banned from his father’s house, losing a court case worth millions and denied security he has battled for six years to have, he may have to realise that his battles against each and every one must finally end.