06/05/2025

LYFE TUESDAY | MAY 6, 2025

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Prince Harry wants reconciliation with royals

PRINCE HARRY said last Friday he wanted reconciliation with the British royal family, but his father King Charles will not speak to him over a row about his security. Harry said he did not know how long the monarch, who has cancer, would live. Hours after losing a court battle with the British government over his police protection, Harry gave an emotional interview to the BBC in which he said he did not think he would ever be able to bring his family back to Britain. “I would love reconciliation with my family. Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.” Harry said. Harry stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to the US, where he lives in California with his American wife Meghan and their two children. Since leaving, he and Meghan have been highly critical of the royals in TV documentaries, an explosive interview with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey and most notably in Harry’s best-selling biography Spare . The prince is barely on speaking terms with either his father or his elder brother, heir to the throne Prince William. In the meantime, Buckingham Palace revealed last year that Charles had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer, although aides have been upbeat about how his treatment is progressing. In response to the BBC interview, Buckingham Palace made no reference to his comments about his father or reconciliation. But a palace spokesperson said all the issues surrounding the prince’s police protection “have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on

each occasion.” Harry’s comments came after he unsuccessfully sought to overturn a decision by the Home Office – the ministry responsible for policing – which in 2020 decided he would not automatically receive personal police protection in Britain after leaving royal life. The prince told the BBC that he was “pretty gutted about the decision”, adding: “We thought it was going to go our way.” Harry, who has previously said the royal institution had sacrificed him to protect other senior members, said he believed the decision over his security had been made to exert control over him, blaming his father for not doing more. “I have had it described to me, once people knew about the facts, that this is an old-fashioned, good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up. And that’s what it feels like,” he told the BBC. “There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands. Ultimately ... this whole thing could be resolved through him, not necessarily by intervening, but by stepping aside, allowing the experts to do what is necessary.” In its ruling, the Court of Appeal said it was “perhaps predictable” Harry would lose his automatic police protection when he exited royal life, and that while he might disagree with the body that made that decision, it was not unlawful. Harry said some of his family would never forgive him for writing his book, and he accepted that he might not be able to bring his children, Archie and Lilibet, back to his homeland. “I love my country, I always have done despite what some people in that country have done. I miss the UK. I miss parts of the UK, of course I do. And I think that it’s really quite sad that I won’t be able to show... my children my homeland,” he said. – Reuters

Trump orders 100% tariff on movies produced outside US U S PRESIDENT Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on movies produced outside the country, saying Movie and TV production has been exiting Hollywood for years, heading to locations with tax incentives that make filming cheaper. o President says American film industry dying including Walt Disney, Netflix and Universal Pictures, film overseas in countries such as Canada and Britain.

It was unclear if the tariffs would apply to movies on streaming services as well as those shown in theatres, or if they would be calculated based on production costs or box office revenue. Hollywood executives were trying to sort out details on Sunday night. The Motion Picture Association, which represents the major studios, had no immediate comment. In January, Trump appointed Hollywood veterans Jon Voight, Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson to bring Hollywood back “bigger, better and stronger than ever before”. Movie and TV production has been exiting Hollywood for years, heading to locations with tax incentives that make filming cheaper. Governments around the world have increased credits and cash rebates to attract productions and capture a greater share of the US$248 billion (RM1.04 trillion) that Ampere Analysis predicts will be spent globally in 2025 to produce content. All major media companies,

In 2023, about half of the spending on movie and TV projects with budgets of more than US$40 million went outside the US, according to research firm ProdPro. Film and television production has fallen by nearly 40% over the last decade in Hollywood’s home city of Los Angeles, according to FilmLA, a non-profit that tracks the region’s production. The January wildfires accelerated concerns that producers may look outside Los Angeles, and that camera operators, costume designers, sound technicians and other behind-the scenes workers may move out of town rather than try to rebuild in their neighbourhoods. A ProdPro survey of executives found California was the sixth most preferred place to film in the next two years, behind Toronto, Britain, Vancouver, Central Europe and Australia. Hollywood producers and labour unions have been urging Governor Gavin Newsom to boost the state’s tax incentives to better compete with other locations. Trump’s proposed movie tariff follows a series of trade conflicts initiated by his administration, which have roiled markets and led to fears of a US recession. Former senior Commerce official William Reinsch, a senior fellow with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said retaliation against Trump’s film tariffs would be devastating. “The retaliation will kill our industry. We have a lot more to lose than to gain,” he said, adding it would be difficult to make a national security or national emergency case for movies. – Reuters

the American movie industry was dying a “very fast death” due to the incentives that other countries were offering to lure filmmakers. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump said he was authorising the relevant government agencies, such as the Department of Commerce, to immediately begin the process of imposing a 100% tariff on all films produced abroad that are then sent into the US. He added: “We want movies made in America, again!” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick posting on X said: “We are on it.” Neither Lutnick nor Trump provided any details on how the tariffs would be implemented.

Harry says he does not know how much longer his father has to live. – ALL PICS FROM REUTERS

Trump says authorising agencies to start process of imposing tariff.