Prince Harry BBC interview: Journalist who interviewed Duke of Sussex says royal is ‘very aware’ of the ‘consequences of doing interviews’ and ‘doesn’t regret’ past actions

Prince Harry is fully aware of the “consequences of continuing to do interviews” and “speaking out”, the journalist who sat down with him last week said.

The Duke of Sussex spoke to the BBC on Friday after losing a court battle in which he had sought to overturn a downgrading of his security while in the UK.

The interview came as a surprise to everyone, including the royal household who only found out about it from the BBC about half an hour before it aired.

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Over 30 minutes, the duke took aim at the royal family, courtiers and the government for the decision while also telling the world it “would be nice to reconcile” with his family.

Most damaging, Prince Harry said he doesn’t “know how much longer my father has”, in reference to the monarch’s cancer battle, adding “he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff”.

He called the decision to remove his automatic police protection on UK soil as “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up”.

Now, the reporter who sat down with the duke in California has spoken out.

BBC journalist Nada ­Tawfik said Prince Harry felt the court’s decision was “a deep injustice done to him”.

“The [court’s] decision had greatly affected him,” Tawfik told Today on Wednesday morning.

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“Whatever you think about what he has to say, he truly feels that there has been a deep injustice done to him.

“Over the interview, it was really interesting to see his emotions. This, in any way, does not feel like closure for him.”

The interview was meant to be just 10 minutes but ran for more than 30 minutes.

Prince Harry’s decision to speak publicly about his family, while calling for a reconciliation, is unlikely to encourage the King or Prince of Wales to reach out.

Royal sources have said the monarch, and Prince William, can’t trust Harry to keep details of their conversations private, fearing anything they say will end up in US media soon after.

Tawfik said Prince Harry was “very aware” of the implications of speaking publicly and doesn’t regret his past actions, including writing a memoir titled Spare.

”When he spoke to me he said he doesn’t regret writing the book, even though he knows his own family won’t forgive him for it,” she told Today.

“He’s very aware of the consequences of continuing to do interviews, continuing to speak out and yet he doesn’t regret what he has done in the past and moving forward he said for him it’s important to have what he said was the truth out there.”

She added, “He said that was particularly important to him in case anything happens to him and his family, so he’s clearly made up his mind that he wanted to be vocal and I think that’s why the interview went as long as it did.”

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In response to the interview Buckingham Palace, via a spokesperson, said: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

Prince Harry said the issue of his security “has always been the sticking point” with the royal family.

Tawfik said she was “surprised” at how open the duke was in their sit-down, particularly when it came to speaking about his security and the issues facing his family.

“I thought it was necessary to get the facts for the public, to be very clear about that, have him expand upon that but also to give him the space to go into some of his feelings and how this is affecting him and his family.

“I was surprised by how open and forthcoming he was about some of that given he knows very well how polarising this issue is in the UK and the critical scrutiny around him and his wife Meghan.

“It was a very revealing conversation.”

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