Attacks on family by Harry leave Queen ‘deeply upset’
QUEEN Elizabeth is said to be ‘deeply upset’ by what she considers a series of ‘very personal’ criticisms of her family by Prince Harry.
Royal sources say the British monarch has been shaken by Harry’s repeated comments since the devastating interview that he and wife Meghan gave to Oprah Winfrey in March.
One source said: ‘Harry’s grandmother has taken this very personally and is deeply upset by what Harry has said, in particular his comments about Charles’s parenting and suggesting his father knows no better because of how he was brought up. It has been a very upsetting time.’
The Mail on Sunday last week revealed mounting fury at Harry among palace aides – who called for the duke and duchess to give up their titles. The anger is said to have grown further after his latest barbs during his appearance on The Me You Can’t See, his TV series about mental health.
The aides, already taken aback by Harry’s ‘shocking’ criticism of Prince Charles’s parenting skills – and by implication those of the Queen and the late Prince Philip – were stunned when he returned to the theme by suggesting his father had allowed him and Prince William to ‘suffer’ as children.
‘My father used to say to me when I was younger, “Well, it was like that for me, so it’s going to be like that for you”,’ he said, adding that efforts to get help for Meghan when she felt suicidal were ‘met with total silence or total neglect’.
Despite the sustained attacks, Charles is understood to maintain hopes of a reconciliation with his youngest son.
‘I don’t think the prince will cut his son off despite what Harry has said,’ one friend said. The friend added: ‘Charles is such a gentle man and a dedicated father first and foremost.’ It came as Winfrey defended Harry’s decision to speak out, insisting he and Meghan were under no obligation to remain ‘silent’ despite their frequent pleas for privacy.
Speaking on the Today show in America, she said: ‘You know, I ask for privacy and I’m talking all the time. So I think being able to have a life that you are not intruded upon by photographers, or people flying overhead, or invading your life, is what every person wants and deserves – to not be intruded and invaded upon.
‘That’s what people are missing. Privacy doesn’t mean silence.’
‘I don’t think Charles will cut his son off’