Prince Harry's HighStakes Fight

THE DUKE OF SUSSEX IS NAVIGATING A CRITICAL MOMENT, CAUGHT BETWEEN A PIVOTAL COURTROOM CLASH OVER HIS U.K. SECURITY AND AN INCREASINGLY FRACTURED RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER, THE KING

- SIMON PERRY, PERNILLA CEDENHEIM and ERIN HILL

Personal Plea A lawyer for Harry (at court in London on April 8) urged judges not to "forget the human dimension" of the case. "There is a person sitting behind me whose safety, whose security, whose life is at stake," said Shaheed Fatima.

When Prince Harry stepped out of London’s Royal Courts of Justice on April 9, he admitted to People that he felt “exhausted” and “overwhelmed.” At stake was his appeal to restore auto matic, state-funded security when he’s in the U.K., which he lost in 2020 after he and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, made the life-altering decision to step back from their royal roles. Frustrated and disillusioned by what he’s uncovered in years of fighting, the Duke of Sussex, 40, says his “worst fears have been confirmed by the whole legal disclosure in this case— and that’s really sad.”

Tension Brews Sentebale chair Dr. Sophie Chandauka (far right) claims her conflict with Harry began in April 2024 when she refused a request to defend Meghan after an awkward moment at a polo fundraiser.

Brothers in Arms Prince Seeiso and Harry (in Lesotho in October 2024) set up Sentebale in memory of their mothers. "It's telling that it's not just him resigning but Seeiso too," says a royal source.

A Young Vision For Harry (in Lesotho in 2006), Sentebale was "a way of keeping Princess Diana close and honoring her," says author Ingrid Seward. "It will be like Harry losing a part of himself."