PRINCE HARRY Fears for His Family's Safety

PRINCE HARRY'S INNER CIRCLE SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THE ROYAL'S DESPERATION TO PROTECT HIS WIFE AND KIDS AND WHY HIS ESTRANGEMENT FROM HIS FATHER HAS DEEPENED

- ERIN HILL and SIMON PERRY

When Prince Harry returned to the U.K. in May to celebrate the 10th anniversary of one of his proudest achievements, the Invictus Games, his father, King Charles, was notably absent from the ceremony at St. Paul's Cathedral. Just a few miles away, Charles was hosting a garden party at Buckingham Palace. Not only did the King, 75, skip the ceremony, but he also didn't see his youngest son during his visit. Initially, Harry's spokesperson cited the King's "full" schedule as the reason for their missed meeting, but sources close to Harry, 39, suggest a deeper issue. Harry wanted to discuss his ongoing battle for security, which he has been fighting for in court for more than four years and believes Charles has the power to reinstate. (Buckingham Palace will not comment on security provisions, but a palace source says the notion that Harry's security is in Charles's hands is "wholly incorrect.")

The ongoing rift that first became public in 2020 when Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from their royal roles has been marked by blistering attacks and open wounds. But for Harry, no single issue is a greater sticking point than that of security, multiple well-placed insiders in his circle tell People. Despite a positive meeting between father and son in February following Charles's cancer diagnosis, their communication has since deteriorated. Those close to Harry say the King no longer takes his son's calls or responds to his letters. "He gets 'unavailable right now," " says a friend of Harry's. "His calls go unanswered.