Prince Harry says focus will be on King Charles after cancer diagnosis

Prince Harry says he will focus on his father King Charles in the year ahead. Photo / Getty Images

Prince Harry intends to “focus” more on his father King Charles over the next year.

The Duke of Sussex met the monarch for the first time in 19 months during his visit to the UK earlier this week and hinted that he is keen to spend more time with his father, who was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in February 2024.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper during his surprise visit to Ukraine earlier this week, Harry said: “The focus really has to be on my dad.”

The duke – who stepped down as a working member of the royal family alongside his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in 2020 before relocating to California – has faced criticism for sharing revelations about his family in his memoir Spare but has denied airing his “dirty laundry” in public.

Harry said: “I know that [speaking out] annoys some people and it goes against the narrative.

“The book? It was a series of corrections of stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected.

“I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible. My conscience is clear.

“It is not about revenge, it is about accountability.”

Harry - who has children Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, with Meghan - hopes to spend more time in the UK after “enjoying” a visit that saw him take on a number of charity engagements.

He said: “Yes, I have enjoyed the week.

“I have always loved the UK and I always will love the UK. It’s been good to reconnect with the causes I am passionate about. I have been able to spend some time with people that I have known for so long. It is hard to do it from far away.”

Harry launched the Invictus Games – sporting events for injured military service personnel – back in 2014 and explained that he used his trip to Ukraine to stress the importance of changing societal attitudes towards disabled people.

He explained: “Seeing people with prosthetics and life-changing injuries is going to be the norm in Ukraine for the coming decades.

“Nobody should feel embarrassed or ashamed about their disabilities. It’s about flipping from sympathy to admiration and respect.”