Shared grief ‘an ideal opportunity to mend royal rifts’
HRH THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH 10 JUNE 1921 - 9 APRIL 2021
Shared grief over the death of the Duke of Edinburgh is an "ideal opportunity" to mend rifts in the Royal Family, former prime minister Sir John Major has said.
His comments came after Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, suggested a coming together for Philip's funeral could help heal tensions.
The Duke of Sussex laid bare a rift with members of his family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey last month.
Asked during an appearance on the BBC'S Andrew Marr programme if he agreed with Mr Nichols, Sir John said: "I'm sure he is right, I hope he's right, I believe he is right and I certainly hope so.
"The friction that we are told has arisen is a friction better ended as speedily as possible, and a shared emotion, a shared grief, at the present time because of the death of their father, their grandfather, I think is an ideal opportunity.
"I hope very much that it is possible to mend any rifts that may exist."
Speaking on Times Radio on Saturday, Mr Nichols said "many a family gather and get over tension and broken relationships at the time of a funeral.
"Something very profound unites them all again. And that would be true for this family, I'm sure. Obviously the whole ceremony will be watched by everybody but you think of the complexities of the dynamics in that family and we have to think of Harry, so far away. I'm sure he'll come but not being, the whole time, in the public eye might just help."
The Duchess of Sussex accused some members of the Royal Family of racism while speaking to Winfrey during the broadcast in March, and claimed the institution failed to help her when she had suicidal thoughts.
Harry, who has not returned to the UK since stepping down as a senior royal just over a year ago, told the chat show host he felt let down by his father, the Prince of Wales, and wanted to heal the relationship but "there's a lot of hurt".
He described his relationship with the Duke of Cambridge as "space" but said he loved him and "time heals all things, hopefully".
The brothers' rift stretches back to before the Sussexes' wedding, when Harry was reportedly angered by what he perceived as his brother's "snobbish" attitude to Meghan, after William questioned whether he should rush into things with the ex-actress.
After the Winfrey interview, the Queen issued a statement saying "while some recollections may vary", the issues raised would be taken "very seriously" but dealt with privately.
Harry will return to the UK this week to attend his grandfather's funeral.
The Duke of Sussex will fly in from his home in California to join other members of the Royal Family at the ceremony.
Buckingham Palace has said the Duchess of Sussex, who is pregnant with the couple’s second child, had been advised by her doctor not to travel.
Sir John also said the Duke of Edinburgh was the person to whom the Queen could "unburden herself". Being head of state is "a very lonely position in many ways", with a limited number of people available for the Queen to speak frankly with, he said.
Sir John said the duke offered the Queen "great support" during their 73 years of marriage, and his death will leave "an enormous hole" in her life.
He said: "Consider the position the Queen is in. She is the head of state, that is a very lonely position in many ways.
"There are a limited number of people to whom she can really open her heart, to whom she can really speak with total frankness, to whom she can say things that would be reported by other people and thought to be indelicate.
"Of the handful of people to whom she can speak frankly, her husband, Prince Philip, was obviously the first one. At times of difficulty, he was the person who was there, he was the person to whom she could unburden herself.
"And when you're facing a sea of problems, as she so often was, and sometimes when you're overwhelmed by what has to be done, someone who understands that, someone that can take part of the burden, someone who can share the decision-making, someone who can metaphorically, or in the case of Prince Philip, I think, probably literally, put their arms around you and say, 'It's not as bad as you think, this is what we have to do, this is how we can do it, this is what I think' - I think when you talk of him being a great support, that was it."
Sir John said he hopes the Queen will be given time and space following Philip's death. He said: "The Queen and Prince Philip had 73 years of marriage together. That is extraordinary, I can think of no one else who's had a marriage for that length, in my experience.
"So it will be an enormous hole in her life that suddenly Prince Philip isn't there. How will the Queen manage? Well, I think there are several things to say about that. Firstly, I hope she will given some time and space.
"I know she is the monarch, I know she has responsibilities, but she has earned the right to have a period of privacy in which to grieve with her family.
"After that... Prince Philip may physically have gone, but (he) will be in the Queen's mind as clearly as if she were sitting opposite him. She will hear his voice metaphorically in her ear, she will know what he will say in certain circumstances, he will still be there in her memory."