Curious about how the British royal family reacted to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's
sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey?
Here's what you need to know about the fallout from Harry and Meghan's interview.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the relationship between Prince
William and his younger brother, Prince Harry, has reportedly been icy for quite some time.
The two have appeared to be in a public feud for years, allegedly stemming from Harry's
relationship with Markle.
So it should come as no surprise that the Oprah Winfrey interview didn't exactly please
William, who not only viewed the sit-down from the perspective of a brother, but as
the future king of England.
According to The Sunday Times, William was "reeling" after the interview aired.
Sources close to him shared,
"His head is all over the place on it."
And it seemed like a couple days wasn't enough for him to cool off, either.
According to The New York Times, days after the interview aired, William was asked at
a public event what he thought of the interview and the allegations of racism that Meghan
launched.
He said they're, quote, "very much not a racist family," adding that he had every intention
of speaking to his brother about the interview.
Perhaps one of the biggest stand-out moments from the interview was when Prince Harry spoke
about his father, Prince Charles.
Not only did Harry reveal that his father had cut him off financially, but that he had
stopped taking his son's phone calls all together.
There certainly seemed to be some brooding tension there, and Charles later showed that
he had no intention of talking about it.
According to CNN, Charles completely avoided questions about the interview in his first
public appearance after the sit-down, despite the uproar that the allegations had caused
in Great Britain and beyond.
Things were a little dicey at this point in time, too, as the palace hadn't released any
kind of statement about the interview or the accusations that it delivered.
When a journalist at Charles' public engagement asked what he thought of the interview, Charles
didn't respond, and just carried on with his appearance.
Given that so many pointed allegations were made against him, it's slightly surprising
that Charles has remained silent.
Where there's Oprah Winfrey, there's Gayle King.
So it really doesn't come as a shock that King got involved in the line of questioning
after her BFF's interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aired.
To make matters a little bit more complicated, King is a friend of Harry and Meghan's, so
when she came out in support of the couple, some people may have been less than happy.
Shortly after the interview, King said on CBS This Morning that she had called Harry
and Meghan to, quote, "see how they were feeling."
King added,
"Harry has talked to his brother, and he had talked to his father too.
The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive."
"The palace keeps saying they want to work it out privately but yet they believe false
stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan still."
The royals were allegedly not happy about the comments.
A royal source told the Daily Mail,
"None of the households [...] will be giving a running commentary on private conversations."
The palace has come under fire before for not releasing a public statement in the wake
of tragedy or big news before.
It took five days for them to release a statement about Princess Diana's passing, and people
drew parallels to that delayed response in the wake of the Prince Harry and Markle interview.
After a lot of public pressure, the palace finally released a statement about the interview
two days after it aired, and while it acknowledged the pain that the couple had endured at the
hands of the Firm and the press, it also included a little jab.
According to People magazine, the 61-word statement that was released on behalf of Queen
Elizabeth said that the couple and their son would, quote, "always be much loved family
members," but added, "Some recollections may vary."
This seems to point to Meghan's claims that she was denied help for her mental health
and that certain royals had discussed the color of her son's skin.
A royal insider told the publication that the phrasing of that last sentiment in the
statement was an "underlying jab" at the couple, intended to show disagreement within the family
about the claims.
The queen of England is embedded in almost everyone's lives at this point — it's almost
easy to think of her as an institution rather than a person.
But as The Sunday Times noted, the interview that Prince Harry and Markle gave placed pressure
on Queen Elizabeth.
While she reportedly planned to speak to Harry and Meghan in the aftermath, she apparently
would not be facilitating conversations to mend the rift between them and other family
members, most specifically Prince William.
A source close to the palace told The Times,
"She's a very alert and on-the-ball 94-year-old but she is 94.
She's going to be speaking to Harry but there is a recognition that it isn't going to be
her brokering a peace between William and Harry."
So how does everyone around the queen feel about the situation between the brothers?
In one word, disappointed.
A royal insider told People magazine,
"It's a sad state of affairs, because William and Harry could have been so brilliant.
To think of what they could have achieved together is almost heartbreaking."
During the sit-down with Oprah, Prince Harry told her that he had been "trapped" in the
royal system and that Markle gave him a ticket out.
He said,
"My father and my brother are trapped.
They don't get to leave, and I have huge compassion for that."
"I also am acutely aware of where my family stands and how scared they are."
As you might have guessed, Prince William was reportedly furious over the sentiment.
A close friend of both William and Harry's told The Sunday Times that William found the
comment to be, quote, "way off the mark" and that the sentiment of being trapped is not
one that he shares with his younger brother.
The source shared,
"He has a path set for him and he's completely accepting of his role.
He is very much his grandmother's grandson in that respect of duty and service."
But it doesn't end there.
A royal insider told Us Weekly,
"William does not support Harry giving up on the family and running away and absolutely
does not support speaking out against the crown.
[...] There may be no path for a mended relationship between the brothers."
The U.K. tabloids always seemed to try to pit Markle and Kate Middleton against each
other, fabricating competition and negativity between them.
One of the biggest stories that came out about them was that Meghan had allegedly made Kate
cry while discussing wedding details.
The palace never denied the story at the time it was released, so when Meghan sat down with
Oprah, she set the record straight — Kate had made Meghan cry, not the other way around.
According to People magazine, a source shared that the exchange regarding wedding details
left both women in tears, but given the stress that the interview caused and the blame pitted
on his wife, Prince William reportedly flew off the handle.
One royal biographer told the publication,
"William is very protective of Kate and can get very angry.
For Meghan to name Kate in a negative light is worse than being attacked himself."
The palace has always maintained a standard — don't publicly engage with criticism,
allegations, or attacks.
It's allowed the royal family to exist above the fray, but given that the interview from
Prince Harry and Markle launched criticism within the family itself, things were not
nearly as easy to avoid.
After the palace released their statement, much of which was in support of Harry and
Meghan and acknowledged the suffering that they had endured at the hands of the Firm,
many thought that tensions would be assuaged.
They were wrong.
According to The Times, the palace's good intentions didn't get them anywhere.
A palace source shared,
"There's a clear threat that if you challenge [Harry and Meghan's] narrative, they'll release
more [allegations]."
And things would only get more complicated.
Shortly before the interview, allegations of bullying on the part of the Sussexes made
their way into the press, and one palace source said that things could get ugly before they
get better.
The insider said,
"A lot could come out in the wash that hasn't been told."
It certainly seems like Prince William is in no rush to mend things with Prince Harry.
"As brothers, you know, you have good days you have bad days."
The two were allegedly already at odds, and the interview that Harry gave to Oprah has
reportedly further estranged them.
Harry finished the interview by saying that he loves his brother "to bits," that they've
"been through hell together," and that time would bring them back together.
He added,
"The relationship is 'space' at the moment, and time heals all things, hopefully."
William has reportedly become much closer to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, and
given his future as the king of England, his relationship with his brother may continue
to dwindle.
So the world will absolutely be watching when the brothers potentially face one another
for the first time after the interview — presumably during the summer of 2021, when celebrations
like Prince Philip's 100th birthday and the commemoration of Princess Diana's 60th birthday
are poised to take place.
Time will tell if their bond will heal.
Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth's husband, is 99.
Given his age, it should come as no surprise that he's had health setbacks, and while Prince
Harry and Markle's interview went on the air, Philip was being treated in the hospital.
As such, he was reportedly kept away from the news in order to protect his own well-being.
One royal expert told 9Honey that royal family members had been keeping Philip from the news,
adding,
"The family are very keen that he's not aware of the full extent of the interview."
According to Vanity Fair, the relationship between Philip and Harry was already on thin
ice, and Philip reportedly felt that the advice he had been giving to Harry was falling on
"deaf ears."
Ingrid Seward, the author of Prince Philip Revealed, said that Philip "harbored doubts"
about Markle, and while he initially tried to be welcoming, he saw Harry's decision to
marry her as an insult to his royal duties.
Even before it was confirmed, there always seemed to be distance between Prince Harry
and Markle and the rest of the royal family.
While unconfirmed for some time, that tension and separation always seemed to be there,
and given the allegations that Harry and Meghan lobbed at the royal family, it certainly seems
that the tension won't be eradicated any time soon.
Some of the closest aides to Queen Elizabeth described Harry and Meghan's interview as
"verging on treasonous."
According to The Sunday Times, another close source to the queen said that the interview
was, quote, "an incredible act of disloyalty."
To make matters worse, more palace sources questioned the motives behind the interview
and what Harry and Meghan were trying to accomplish.
The insider said,
"The question nobody seems able to answer is what are the Sussexes trying to achieve
with this?
We don't know what they want.
If you think the Queen is great, then why are you trying to trash everything she and
the family stands for?"
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview reportedly had some consequences for palace
staff.
Senior royal sources told The Sunday Times that the way in which Harry and Meghan described
the Firm and the palace at large created "a culture of fear" throughout the staff and
that people are now walking on eggshells in order to keep the peace.
The sources shared,
"There are people, including young women in the households, who are now feeling nervous
and afraid about going out on [royal] engagements because of what might happen due to what has
been said.
Staff are fearful of attacks on social media and what bomb might land next."
As for the status of Harry and Meghan within the palace, things have reportedly gone downhill.
The source told The Times,
"Harry was worshipped by most people in the household.
Now most people are horrified by him."
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