Although Prince Harry admitted speaking out “annoys some people”, the Duke of Sussex stressed his “conscience is clear” following the meeting with his dad, King Charles

Prince Harry has visited Kyiv, Ukraine(Image: Emmi Korhonen/Lehtikuva/Shutterstock)

Prince Harry has declared the “focus really has to be on my dad” in the next 12 months.

Speaking in the wake of his reconciliation meeting with his father, Harry made clear his priority although he stressed he has no regrets about his tell-all memoir Spare and Netflix series. The Duke of Sussex and King Charles’ private meeting at Clarence House last week – their first in 19 months – lasted less than one hour, as Harry was reportedly he was late for another engagement.

But yesterday, Harry suggested he wants – and needs – to see his father more often. Speaking in an interview in war-hit Ukraine during his surprise visit, the Duke said: “The focus really has to be on my dad.” It was a reference to his desires in the next 12 months amid recent speculation he and Meghan Markle are considering a return to the UK.

The Duke of Sussex met members of the Ukrainian government(Image: Global Images Ukraine via Getty)

During his lengthy interview with The Guardian in Ukraine, the royal reflected on Spare and his work on Netflix programmes. These, Harry argued, were his and Meghan’s attempts at correcting “one point of view”.

“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,” Prince Harry, who today turns 41, said.

“I know that [speaking out] annoys some people and it goes against the narrative. The book? It was a series of corrections to stories already out there. One point of view had been put out and it needed to be corrected.”

Harry waves to members of the public during his visit to the UK last week (Image: Aaron Chown/PA Wire)

Harry is in Kyiv to promote the work of the Duke of Sussex’s Invictus Games Foundation (IGF), and to celebrate the recovery and rehabilitation of the thousands of veterans there who have suffered life-changing injuries since the war with Russia began three years ago.

But the dad of two recognises the trip is a gamble, and admitted he doesn’t like posing for staged photographs. The journey – and the engagement with his dad – has, though, left Harry in a position to reflect, he continued.

“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 added. He stressed he does he want to prolong any divisions with his family. However, Harry continued: “You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.”

The Duke of Sussex’s mission in Ukraine, designed also to encourage those who have been seriously injured to find a purpose outside the military, continues.