Prince Harry news: King Charles wants ‘no distractions’ from royals’ VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations after bombshell BBC interview

By India McTaggart

The King wants “no distractions” from VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations this week amid an ongoing row involving the Duke of Sussex.

It is understood that the royal family wants “nothing” to detract from the focus on veterans and their sacrifices during the Second World War.

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It comes after Palace insiders said Prince Harry’s outburst about King Charles on Friday will only deepen the rift between them.

The Duke’s comment about his father’s cancer on the BBC, in which he said that he “doesn’t know how much longer he has left”, was considered to be in particularly “poor taste”.

Now, it is understood Buckingham Palace hopes “nothing will detract or distract from celebrating with full cheer and proud hearts that precious victory and those brave souls, on this most special and poignant of anniversaries”.

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Royal family ‘will unite with the rest of the nation’

It comes ahead of four days of commemorative events to mark the important anniversary, including a military procession and RAF fly-past on Monday, which the Royal family will watch from the Palace balcony.

Senior members of the family will turn out in full force to take part in the events marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

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Ahead of the celebrations, a Palace aide said that the Royals “are very much looking forward to all the week’s VE Day events”.

Throughout the ceremonial and celebratory events, including a concert being held at Horse Guards Parade on Thursday, they said that the family “will unite with the rest of the nation and those across the Commonwealth and wider world in celebrating, commemorating and giving thanks to the wartime generation”.

The aide added that the veterans’ “selfless devotion, duty and service should stand as an enduring example to us all – and must never be forgotten”.

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The comments follow the Duke of Sussex’s TV interview aired hours after he lost his appeal against the Government over security, during which he claimed that he wanted to reconcile with his family, but said King Charles “won’t speak to me”.

The Duke alleged that the Royal household had exploited the issue of security “to imprison” members of the Royal family, blocking them “from being able to choose a different life”, describing the court ruling as “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch up”.

Buckingham Palace took the rare step of issuing a statement in response to the Duke’s comments on Friday, illustrating the strength of feeling.

A spokesperson said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

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On Monday, Their Majesties will be turning their attention to leading the nation through the most prominent VE Day celebration in years.

Among the planned events are a tea party hosted by the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace for Second World War veterans and a new exhibition of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London.

This week’s festivities will likely be the final landmark anniversary at which veterans, the youngest of whom are now in their late 90s, will be present.

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2025

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