Palace lawyers wanted copy of Duke interview
There are yet to be any official responses to Prince Harry’s slew of intimate family revelations
The Royal family’s lawyers yesterday asked a US broadcaster to hand over Prince Harry’s latest interview as he expressed concern for royal children and suggested that the late Queen was powerless to help him. A legal firm acting for Buckingham Palace contacted ABC while Prince Harry’s interview was on air, saying that it needed to consider exactly what was said and “the context in which it appears” in order to have the opportunity to respond.
The Royal family’s lawyers yesterday asked a US broadcaster to hand over Prince Harry’s latest interview as he expressed concern for royal children and suggested that the late Queen was powerless to help him.
A legal firm acting for Buckingham Palace contacted ABC while Prince Harry’s interview was on air, saying it needed to consider exactly what was said and “the context in which it appears” in order to have the opportunity to respond.
Royal sources insisted it was a standard “right of reply” letter but it raised the prospect that they were concerned about something specific that Prince Harry may have said.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace has so far commented on any of the allegations made in the Duke’s memoir, Spare, despite their highly personal and potentially damaging nature.
Palace lawyers asked both ABC and CBS, which also broadcast an interview with the Duke on Sunday evening, for a copy of the Duke’s interviews but the requests were declined.
Royal children
The Duke expressed concern for the “young kids” within the Royal family, saying he hoped his efforts to reform the monarchy will help them.
He said that if nothing changed, their future partners might be treated in the same way as Meghan.
Asked about the Royal family’s perceived “co-dependency” with the tabloid media, he said: “I worry about other young kids within that family if this continues. Because who’s to say that someone else doesn’t fill my shoes and that their partner, whether it’s a husband or a wife or boyfriend or a girlfriend, doesn’t get treated exactly the same as Meghan did?”
Late Queen powerless to help
The Duke suggested that his grandmother’s hands were tied when it came to helping him and his wife.
He said Queen Elizabeth II had never told him she was angry with him for wanting to change his royal role but that he thought she was “sad” it had reached such a point. He said: “We had a very good relationship. She knew what was going on. She knew how hard it was. I don’t know whether she was in a position to be able to change it.” His comments suggest he thought the senior palace aides called the shots.
Family relationship was already at rock bottom
The Duke was challenged on the view that he had “sold his family out” with his book but insisted that he felt it was the only way he could “protect” himself. He added: “I thought about it long and hard, and as far as I see it, the divide couldn’t have been greater before this book. I genuinely believe that me and my family can reconcile, but first there needs to be a conversation and accountability. And if that doesn’t happen, then that’s very sad. But I will focus on my life.”
The Duke added: “I’m not angry any more. There are things that will still anger me, but I’m not angry any more, because I am exactly where I am supposed to be,” he said.
‘I thought about it long and hard, and as far as I see it, the divide couldn’t have been greater before this book’
Hopes to be ‘joined at the hip’ with Prince William again
The Duke admitted that he harboured hopes of one day being “joined at the hip” with his brother again but alleged that the prospect would “terrify” the press. He also repeated his claim that the family would not find peace “until the truth is out there.”
He added: “There’s a lot that I can forgive, but there needs to be conversations in order for reconciliation, and part of that has to be accountability. I just hope that there’s a way that we can have a
‘I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother’
conversation that is trusted within that conversation that isn’t then spilled to the British press. That’s where I am.”
Royals’ behaviour towards Meghan based on media reports
The Duke blamed the press for driving a wedge between Meghan and the
Princess of Wales, suggesting that media coverage influenced how the royals behaved more than their own personal experiences.
He alleged that William was “jealous” of his position, saying: “But I have more freedom than he does, right? So his life is planned out for him. I have more flexibility to be able to choose the life that I wanted.”
He has not spoken to the Queen Consort ‘for a long time’
The Duke adopted a more conciliatory tone towards his stepmother than in previous interviews, insisting that he had “a huge amount of compassion”
for Camilla. He said that any deals or trading of stories that happened many years ago had likely taken place because she was “led to believe” it was the best way to rehabilitate her reputation.
“We haven’t spoken for a long time. I love every member of my family, despite the differences, so when I see
‘I love every member of my family, despite the differences’
her we’re perfectly pleasant with each other,” he said. “I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother. I see someone who married into this institution and has done everything she can to improve her own reputation for her own sake.”
Therapy
The Duke admitted that he wished he had been given the opportunity to do some form of therapy in the wake of his mother’s death, so he could have spoken about her and celebrated her life.
He said he probably would have partied less and taken fewer drugs in order to “find a feeling or numb a feeling”.