Britain's Prince Harry has claimed King Charles will not speak to him because of his legal fight over his UK security, but that he does want a "reconciliation" with his family.
In a BBC television interview after losing the latest round in his court battle, Harry, 40, said "this, at the heart of it, is a family dispute", a comment likely to deepen the rift with his father, King Charles, and his brother William.
When asked if Charles had been asked to use his influence in Harry's legal problems, Harry appeared to imply the King was a hindrance.
He said: "I've never asked him to intervene, I've asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their job."
The health of the king, who is being treated for cancer, was highlighted by his son, who said: "And I said, life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has, he, he won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile."
Harry offered an olive branch, saying he could "forgive my family's involvement", naming Charles, William and his stepmother Camilla, in events since he began dating his wife Meghan in 2016.
The rift between Harry and Meghan and the royal family opened significantly following their interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which they alleged a member of the family was concerned about their son Archie's skin tone before he was born.
Then Harry claimed in his controversial memoir, Spare, that William had physically attacked him, that the King put his own interests above Harry's and was jealous of Meghan.
In a series of interviews to promote the book, Harry attacked the reputation of Camilla, saying her willingness to forge relationships with the British press made her "dangerous", and he said she tried to rehabilitate her "image" at his cost.
Harry's level of security changed in 2020 when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California for financial and personal freedom, and he suggested the royal family and officials hoped his realisation of the increased safety risk "would force us to come back".
Harry lost a British Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements while in the UK and said in the TV interview he "can't see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK".
He failed in his appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the UK Home Office, over the decision of the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that he should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.
"But 2020, when that decision happened, I couldn't believe it. I actually couldn't believe it," said Harry.
He added: "I thought, with all the disagreements and all of the chaos that's happening, the one thing that I could rely on is my family keeping me safe.
"And not only did they decide to remove my security in the UK, but they also signalled to every single government around the world not to protect us."
He also told the BBC: "Everybody knew that they were putting us at risk in 2020 and they hoped that me knowing that risk would force us to come back."
