A royal commentator has shed light on how the Royal Family, including King Charles and Prince William, first learned of Prince Harry’s explosive interview last week.
The Duke of Sussex appeared on the BBC following the dismissal of his High Court appeal regarding the downgrading of his security arrangements in the UK.
During the extended broadcast, Prince Harry made several striking remarks, including comments on his father’s can.cer diagnosis, stating that he was uncertain how much time King Charles had left. He also referred to the court decision as “a good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up” and claimed that the King “won’t speak” to him.
The interview aired without any prior press briefing, and according to royal expert Emily Nash, the palace received only minimal advance notice.
Speaking on A Right Royal Podcast, Hello! magazine’s royal editor Emily Nash revealed: “The palace had very limited awareness just before the interview aired. My understanding is that there were some possible discussions in the background, especially now that the legal case had concluded.”
Commenting on the continued tension between Prince Harry and the rest of the Royal Family, Nash suggested that any remaining hope for a reconciliation may have been extinguished by the interview.
She explained, “It was always clear that the King couldn’t have direct conversations with his son while the legal action was ongoing. Doing so could have placed him in a difficult—and potentially unconstitutional—position.”
“He had to remain completely neutral, especially since Harry was suing His Majesty’s government. Getting involved, even as a father, would have been seen as interference,” Nash added.
However, she also suggested that once the legal matter was settled, there may have been an opportunity to begin mending the fractured relationship.
“There seemed to be a sense that there was room for a gesture of reconciliation—perhaps an olive branch of sorts. But any possibility of that happening quickly disappeared once the interview was broadcast,” she said.
