Prince Harry’s ongoing UK security court case is the primary factor preventing him from making amends with King Charles, it has been reported.

The 40-year-old has been in an ongoing legal battle with the UK Government after he contested the Home Office’s February 2020 decision that he should receive a different degree of protection when he returned to the country following his departure from the Royal Family the same year.

The King’s strained relationship with his youngest son remains a “source of consternation”, according to The Times.

The publication has recently reported that the King feels that “there is little he can say” to Harry, who stepped down from royal duties almost five years ago.

Speaking on the Duke of Sussex’s UK court case, The Times’s assistant editor Kate Mansey wrote: “[Prince] Harry’s decision to sue the King’s government in the King’s courts is the sticking point, I am told.

“Harry is challenging a decision by Ravec, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, which decides what security is provided for the royal family and other VIPs.”

In the latest update with the court case, Harry lost the case in February, with High Court judge Sir Peter Lane finding that “there has not been any unlawfulness in reaching the decision” to revise his security. Despite this, the royal is expected to appeal in April.

Ms Mansey said: “The royal household is represented on the committee and would have had a seat at the table when the decision was made to remove Harry’s automatic right to police protection in Britain.

“It places the King in a tricky position because Harry has been granted leave to appeal.”

Harry has previously expressed his concern over the safety of his wife and their two children if they were to travel over to the UK.

Previously speaking on this, Harry said: “It was with great sadness to both of us that my wife and I felt forced to step back from this role and leave the country in 2020. The UK is my home. The UK is central to the heritage of my children and a place I want them to feel at home as much as where they live at the moment in the United States.

“That cannot happen if there is no possibility to keep them safe when they are on UK soil.”

He added: “I can’t put my wife in danger like that, and given my experiences in life, I’m reluctant to unnecessarily put myself in harm’s way too.”