Fears ‘Megxit’ could get even uglier as Prince Harry and Meghan get set to give US TV interview
As senior royals gear up for a showdown over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from the royal family, reports suggest the couple could be about to drop a bombshell in a “tell all” TV interview.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “Megxit” could soon get even uglier — amid fears they will give an explosive interview branding the royal family “racist and sexist,” it has been reported.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been lambasted for their shocking split from the royal family last Wednesday — and close friends believe they will hit back by attacking the monarchy to justify distancing themselves, reports say.
The couple hinted at issues with the family in a documentary last year — and the journalist behind it, the couple’s friend Tom Bradby, says the royals should fear what the alienated pair could say, reports the New York Post.
“I have some idea of what might be aired in a full, no-holds-barred sit-down interview and I don’t think it would be pretty,” Bradby wrote in The Times.
While Bradby did not elaborate, The Times said royal courtiers fear Meghan would brand members of the family “racist and sexist.”
Bradby said it would be “very damaging indeed” if the monarchy’s international reputation was tarnished by the breakaway pair.
Bradby claims that Harry and Meghan find other royals “jealous and, at times, unfriendly,” making it clear that that did not include Queen Elizabeth II nor her husband, Prince Philip.
He claims the “fallout” began at their 2018 royal wedding when “really damaging things were said and done.”
“The atmosphere soured hard and early, but few meaningful attempts were made by anyone to heal the wounds,” Bradby said.
The British journalist made it clear he hopes the royals can patch up their disagreements before it potentially turns too ugly to repair.
“The family urgently needs a meaningful peace deal with the young breakaway couple, because a protracted war would be very bloody indeed,” he wrote.
Bradby – who joined the Sussexes on their trip to South Africa last year – thinks Prince Harry is determined to “make the best” of the situation ahead of the anticipated showdown with the Queen, his father Prince Charles and his brother Prince William.
Reports have revealed that Gayle King, the chief anchor of This Morning in the US and Oprah Winfrey’s best friend, will interview the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their shock exit from the British royal family.
CRISIS TALKS
It comes as the Queen will reportedly hold face-to-face talks on Monday (local time) with Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry to discuss the future roles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, according to reports.
The talks are being held without the Duchess of Sussex, who flew back to Canada to be reunited with the couple’s eight-month-old son Archie, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Friday.
Meghan, however, could join Monday’s talks over the phone although the palace would not confirm whether she planned to.
The Sun said Prince Harry fast-tracked the announcement to quit royal duties – the so-called “Megxit” – because Meghan wanted to spend more time with family and friends in North America and was on the brink of a “meltdown” if she remained in the UK.
“The statement was rushed out and part of the reason for that is that Harry knew he needed to take swift action,” a source told The Sun.
“Meghan has not settled in the UK and he knows that and wants her to be happy. And it got worse recently, with their spell in Canada helping cement her view that the family would be better off out of the spotlight and spending more time there.
“He feared staying in the UK too long would lead Meghan to have a meltdown. That’s why things moved so quickly.”
PHILIP ‘SPITTING BLOOD’ OVER HARRY AND MEGHAN’S DECISION
Meanwhile, Prince Philip has been “spitting blood” over Harry and Meghan’s decision to walk away from the royal family and their snub to the Queen.
The ill Philip, 98, has been bedridden at his cottage on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk after spending five days in hospital before Christmas.
The Duke of Edinburgh, who only retired in 2017, was angry at the young royals, a source told The Sun.
“To say that the Duke feels let down would be a considerable understatement. He is deeply hurt,” the source said.
“He spends much of his time now confined to his cottage at Sandringham.
“But he was spitting blood when aides informed him what had happened.”
Philip has sounded off to the Queen about his displeasure, ahead of a showdown meeting between the Monarch, Prince Charles, William and Harry on Monday.
“He has left the Queen in absolutely no doubt about how he feels. Philip has accused Harry and Meghan of lacking respect and he is weary of their behaviour,” the source said.
“They did not spend Christmas with the family — which he and the Queen accepted — and now this. His primary concern is the impact this is having on the Queen.
“A lot of Philip’s anger comes from seeing Her Majesty upset.”
A heartbroken Prince William also revealed the pain of not being able to “put his arm around” his brother ahead of a crisis meeting between the royal family at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate on Monday.
Prince Harry will see the Queen for the first time since he announced he would quit royal duties.
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He will also face off with his father, Prince Charles, and older brother, Prince William.
“I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that anymore,” Prince William confided in a friend, according to The Sunday Times.
“I’m sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope that the time comes when we’re all singing from the same page.
“I want everyone to play on the same team.”
The royal family wants to help Prince Harry get his wishes but they will also dump a doomsday tax scenario on him at the meeting that outlines the millions he would have to pay if he quits and moves to Canada.
And it has been revealed that the couple’s close friend, Sir Elton John, knew about Prince Harry’s plans before the Queen did, with Her Majesty only learning about it around the same time as the couple’s bombshell Instagram post, according to The Mirror newspaper.
A royal source confirmed the Sandringham meeting — to be attended by Prince Harry, the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge — to News Corp Australia.
“Yes, that is correct,” the source said.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
As the royal pair prepare to thrash out the terms of their financial future, it has emerged that Meghan has already signed a voiceover deal with the Walt Disney Company.
The voiceover work was in exchange for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, a wildlife charity that helps to track and protect the animals from poachers, The Times revealed.
The Duchess of Sussex recorded the voiceover before she left for her six-week Christmas break to Canada’s Vancouver Island.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a long list of demands on their newly minted website last week and it’s understood the Queen will try to meet as many as she can.
Prince Harry has been stalling on the negotiations, wanting to hammer out the best deal possible, as it was revealed the couple’s dogs have been flown to Canada, a development that could signal their move may be permanent.
The Queen wanted to get the deal finalised within as little as 72 hours, but now Prince Harry is digging in.
Prince Harry and his father Prince Charles, who pays his son up to $A4 million each year, have not always seen eye-to-eye.
Now Prince Harry has created the furore with his rogue statement, he has been given the upper hand in talks following the Queen’s desire for a quick fix.
“This is their future and their lives. It’s not just going to be quickly signed off,” a royal source told The Telegraph in the UK.
Prince Harry, who has been holed up in his home Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, wants “a satisfactory deal” for his family, the source added.
His desire to hold out for the best possible deal may mean he spends a significant time away from Meghan.
She reportedly rushed back to Canada to be with their baby son Archie, who they left with their nanny for three days when they returned to London to make their announcement.
Meghan’s beagle Guy, and a black Labrador that has never publicly been named, were jetted to Canada when the family travelled there for a six-week break over Christmas, it has been revealed.
The couple are as dedicated to their dogs as Johnny Depp was to Boo and Pistol, who caused controversy when he bought them to Australia.
The arrival of the dogs in Canada was seen as a sign the couple were more likely to move there permanently than America, where it would be harder to organise security.
Prince Harry said his wife was good with animals and had even won over the Queen’s corgis.
“And the corgis took to you straight away,” Harry said to Meghan in their 2017 engagement interview.
“I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at; this one walks in, absolutely nothing …,” he said.
“Just laying on my feet during tea, it was very sweet,” she added.
Meghan Markle has been blamed as the reason for the couple wanting to step back from royal duties, as they announced last week.
But Prince Harry has always struggled in the spotlight, and keenly felt the loss of his mother Princess Diana, who died in a high speed car crash in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.
The royal family has denied claims from journalist Tom Bradby, a close friend of Harry, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were forced out.
PUBLIC’S SHOCK REACTION TO ‘MEGXIT’
Public opinion of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has fallen to its lowest level following their decision to split from the royal family.
The Duke and Duchess released a statement last week confirming they’ll be splitting their time between the UK and North America, while working to become “financially independent”.
They added that while they’ll continue to “fully support Her Majesty The Queen”, they’re aiming to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution”.
But a poll, published by the Mail Online, shows opinion of the couple has drastically fallen since they announced they would step back from royal duties.
The Sussexes face a public rating of just minus two per cent – a vast drop of 22 points since a similar survey in October last year.
Meghan is now ranked at number 10 in the list of the most popular royals – with the Duchess slipping behind Sophie Wessex.
And Prince Harry, who was once crowned the nation’s favourite prince, has seen his rating plummet to 20 points.
Over half of the public – 54 per cent – want Harry to be stripped of his title, while a further 47 per cent say the Duke and Duchess should give up the use of HRH initials.
A huge 60 per cent believe the Sussexes pay for the cost of refurbishing Frogmore Cottage, rather than leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill.
A further 76 per cent say Harry and Meghan should not get another penny in support from Buckingham Palace or the Government.
When asked if the Queen should let them go or make them stay, 72 per cent of those polled said the Duke and Duchess should go – while just 16 per cent said they should stay.
TRUMP JUMPS INTO ‘MEGXIT’ SAGA, SIDES WITH QUEEN
US President Donald Trump has taken sides in the “Megxit” drama expressing his allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II and calling Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out for stepping back from royal duties, calling the decision “sad.”
“I think it’s sad. I do. I think it’s sad. She’s a great woman,” he said, referring to the Queen. He went on to call the monarch “flawless”.
“I just have such respect for the Queen, I don’t think this should be happening to her,” Mr Trump told Fox News.
Mr Trump clearly displayed his high opinion of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, and fondly recalled his numerous meetings with the Queen.
MEGHAN RETURNS TO CANADA
Meghan Markle returned to Canada following the couple’s bombshell announcement that they were quitting their frontline royal duties, as the monarch held urgent talks with her family to resolve the crisis.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent an extended Christmas holiday in Canada with their son Archie before returning to break the news that they would “step back” from royal roles.
The Daily Mail newspaper reported that Meghan flew back having never intended to be in Britain long, and “may stay there for the foreseeable future.”
“I can confirm reports that the Duchess is in Canada,” the couple’s spokeswoman told AFP.
Several Canadian media reported Meghan had returned to Vancouver Island off the country’s Pacific coast, where the family spent the year-end holidays and where baby Archie had remained with his nanny.
British tabloids reported that Harry will join his family, effectively finalising “Megxit”, but this was not confirmed by the couple’s spokesman.
Mystery surrounds the owner of the waterfront property where the couple will be initially based, with unconfirmed suggestions it is owned by a Russian oligarch.
The Sun quoted an unnamed nearby resident, who said it was an unusual place for the royal couple to stay.
“I was very surprised to hear they were staying there because it’s always been a mystery about who actually owns it,” The Sun quoted the source as saying.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared pictures of themselves at a kitchen for Grenfell Tower survivors during a visit a day before they announced they are quitting as senior royals.
Meghan has made several private visits to the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London in recent years since the tragedy in 2017.
Their latest post today spoke of how the couple were “so happy” to visit the women who run the community kitchen.
“These women came together in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy to cook meals for their families and neighbours who had been displaced from the fire. With funds from the successful cookbook, they have now been able to share their spirit of community with so many more,” the post read.
The royal couple is planning to set up a new home in the Duchess of Sussex’s glittery old stomping grounds of Los Angeles, along with one in the Commonwealth country of Canada, according to the New York Post.
“Meghan is, at heart, an LA girl, she cares about money, power and prestige,” a highly placed source told the Post.
The pair, who said they would no longer live their lives as senior royals, will have Canada as their base, but will spend a lot of time in Southern California, near Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland.
“Meghan really wants to live in California, it’s where she is from and where her mother lives,” another source close to the couple said.
“She likes the lifestyle and the privacy there. She has been getting advice on the move from close friends, including Oprah and the Clooneys, and they have encouraged her that she and Harry can step away from the royal family and follow their own path.”
But according to the Daily Mail, Winfrey has denied that she advised Harry and Meghan on the move.
The 65-year-old media maven said the royal couple does not need her help.
It had been reported that Winfrey was the first person to talk to Harry and Meghan about breaking free of royal duties and building a brand, but Winfrey told People magazine “Meghan and Harry do not need my help figuring out what’s best for them.”
CANADA NO SAFE HAVEN FOR ROYALS, SAY EXPERTS
Canadian media would be much less intrusive for the Duke and Duchess, but British tabloids would hire freelancers for ‘gotcha’ moments, experts said.
“We won’t be nearly as fascinated by them,” said Chris Waddell, a longtime journalist and professor at Ottawa’s Carleton University School of Journalism and Communication.
Canadian media “tend to separate the public life from the private life of public figures,” Waddell said.
But Ken Goldstein, a Canadian media economics and trends analyst, said if the couple moved to Canada, the tabloids would likely hire freelancers in Canada “to do their gotcha thing for them,” he said.
Many observers have also criticised the British press for being overtly racist in its coverage of Meghan, whose mother is black.
Canadian coverage “tends to dance around the issue of race,” said Anita Li, a media analyst who focuses on diversity. “It’s better than the UK media in the sense that it’s not overtly racist … But it’s subtle, it’s much more insidious in some ways.”
David Heller, deputy director of the New York-based Media Law Resource Centre, doesn’t think the move would change much for the couple.
“I don’t think there will be any less appetite on the part of the English tabloids to cover them regardless of where they call home,” Heller said.
But Waddell said British tabloids would find it more expensive to cover the couple away from home, compared to “driving down the street in London trying to find them.”
WILLIAM ‘TRIED TO HEAL RIFT’
Reports have suggested that Prince William tried to heal the ongoing rift with his younger brother Prince Harry after last year’s controversial TV documentary revealed the extent of their feud.
But a meeting between the estranged brothers never happened, The Sun revealed.
According to The Evening Standard, William wanted to meet Prince Harry at Frogmore Cottage, the Sussexes’ Windsor home, after the hour-long show aired in October.
However, the meeting to mend the “Fab Four” division between William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38, and Harry and Meghan failed to take place.
Prince Harry confirmed a feud with his brother in the bombshell documentary, admitting the once-close siblings were “on different paths”.
In the TV doco, Meghan also slammed the British so-called stiff upper lip tradition as “damaging”, prompting sources close to William to suggest the couple was “fragile”.
Royal sources revealed Prince Harry was “not in great shape” and his relationship with Prince William was “fractious”.
A senior Kensington Palace source said William was genuinely worried for Harry and Meghan after their emotional TV interview and hopes they “are all right”.
William and Harry didn’t see each other in private for six months following Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding, The Sunreports.
‘MEGXIT’ TO BE FINALISED WITHIN DAYS
The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have told their teams to work fast to grant Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a quickie divorce from the royal family, according to The Sun.
The split is now expected to “take days not weeks” – as Buckingham Palace warned it would be “complicated”.
It came amid multiple reports that the Queen had asked her grandson Prince Harry not to issue the statement but he defied her orders and went ahead with it anyway.
The Queen was left “disappointed” by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell announcement they are quitting as senior royals and moving to North America.
No other members of the royal family were consulted before the shock statement was issued, and the “hurt” monarch was taken by surprise.
Royal staffers have now been told to work “at pace” to sort out the major problems related to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quitting their jobs.
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A high-powered conference call between the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry started to iron out some of the problems.
A Buckingham Palace source said that following the call aides were told to make the issue their top priority with a result demanded within “days, not weeks.”
The issue will take some work though, with the royal family to speak with the British, Canadian and United States governments.
There is a five-day window without any royal public engagements where arrangements could be made, with questions remaining about who would pay for the royal couple’s security bill if they moved abroad.
Harry’s next public appearance is next week when he will do the draw for the Rugby League World Cup to be held in 2021.
WHY PRINCE HARRY DEFIED THE QUEEN
Prince Harry reportedly informed the Queen about his plan to quit as a senior royal and the Queen asked him to hold off on an announcement until he spoke with his father, Prince Charles.
However, reports suggest both Prince Charles and Prince William were told about the news 10 minutes before the announcement, leaving them “incandescent with rage”.
The Queen reportedly had a conference call with Princes Charles, William and Harry, demanding that the split “take days not weeks” to sort out. The monarch could opt to make things difficult for Prince Harry and Meghan.
The couple plans to base themselves at their Frogmore Cottage home on the Windsor Estate when in the UK.
However, Frogmore Cottage is owned by the Queen, therefore it will be up to her whether they will be permitted to use it as their UK home going forward.
Taxpayers paid 2.4 million pounds ($A4.6 million) to renovate the Grade-2 listed building, which the couple moved into just nine months ago.
Their new website sussexroyal.com says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to Windsor for “various reasons”, and mentioned the fact that their previous residence of Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace “could not accommodate their growing family”.
The website says: “Frogmore Cottage will continue to be the property of Her Majesty the Queen. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to use Frogmore Cottage – with the permission of Her Majesty The Queen – as their official residence as they continue to support the monarchy, and so that their family will always have a place to call home in the United Kingdom.”
Before they announced their split from the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan applied for a trademark that would cover hundreds of items including newspapers, clothing, charitable fundraising, education and social care services.
It would apply to both the name “Sussex Royal” and to their charitable organisation “The Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
The couple’s shock announcement — considered by some commentators as momentous as King Edward’s decision to abdicate the throne — is the second scandal to rock the monarchy in two months.
Already in crisis after Prince Andrew was forced out of public life over his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, royals — including the 93-year-old Queen — were blindsided by the pair’s defection.
The monarch, a rock of stability in more than six decades of steady rule, wasted no time taking her grandson to task, issuing an extraordinary statement where she warned him that getting out of his duty was not easy.
“Discussions with The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are at an early stage,” the Queen’s office said in a statement.
“We understand their desire to take a different approach, but these are complicated issues that will take time to work through.”
The couple say they want to be financially independent and will refuse money from the Queen, but they still want their $A1.1 million security bill covered each year and expect Prince Charles to keep paying them up to $A4 million through his property investment fund until they find their feet.
The split, which has been labelled Megxit in a play on words of Britain’s Brexit attempts to leave the EU, has been brewing for more than a year.
But the Queen’s decision to publish a photograph of her with Princes Charles, William and George — the direct in line to the throne — was said to have angered Prince Harry and forced his hand.
The first signs of tensions emerged in November 2018 amid reports that Meghan had a falling out with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress for her wedding.
In April last year, Prince Harry and Meghan moved from Kensington Palace, which Prince William and Kate call home, to Frogmore Cottage at Windsor in another marker of their distance.
Meghan broke with tradition and was not photographed outside the hospital after the birth of baby Archie in May and also tried to keep his christening private.
The couple split from William and Kate’s charity, the Royal Foundation that Prince Harry helped set up, in June to run their own instead.
Tensions boiled over at the end of Prince Harry and Meghan’s successful tour of southern Africa in September when they announced they were suing The Mail on Sunday over stories written about Meghan’s father Thomas.
He was a notable absence from the couple’s 2018 wedding after he sold photographs in the lead up to the ceremony, then suffered a heart problem. Meghan no longer speaks to him and he has not met Archie.
Prince Harry and Meghan have been struggling with their roles, admitting in a documentary about their African tour they were finding it hard to cope with what they claimed was bullying from the British press.
Prince Harry confirmed the rift with Prince William in the documentary, saying he and his brother were on “different paths”.
He also said that he was worried Meghan was being hounded in the same way as his mother, the late Princess Diana.
Meghan was spotted at London’s Dorfman Theatre before the couple dropped their news on Instagram.
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” Prince Harry and Meghan said in their statement.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.”
The couple said they would divide their time between England and North America, with expectations they would move to Canada for part of the year.
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,” they said.
“This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.”
Former editor of the International Who’s Who and royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told News Corp Australia that the pair had caused an “earthquake” for the royal family.
“The real story has yet to be told, or most of it,” he said.
Mr Fitzwilliams compared the couple’s decision to King Edward’s decision to abdicate the throne.
“This is unprecedented since 1936,” he said.
“It’s grossly irresponsible.”
Royal biographer Penny Junor told News Corp Australia that she was concerned for Harry and Meghan following their shock announcement.
“I don’t think they have thought this through properly,” she said.
“They have an expensive lifestyle, how are they ever going to make the millions needed to fund that while dedicating themselves to charity?”
The announcement from the couple has been a crisis for the royal family, but still does not compare to Prince Andrew’s fall from grace, she said.
The Sun reported that Prince Harry had changed since he had met Meghan, which was the start of the spiral in his relationship with his brother.
“Harry and Meghan didn’t spend any time with William and Kate, and the two wives don’t get along at all – the distance and the differences between them grew into a vast chasm,” a source said.
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan, who was once friends with Meghan but fell out, said the statement had echoes of Meghan’s dispute with her father.
“People say I’m too critical of Meghan Markle – but she ditched her family, ditched her dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William and has now split him from the royal family. I rest my case,” he said.
Prince Harry and Meghan have launched a new website, which was reportedly set up while they were in Canada on their six-week break, but did not tell their UK media team.
The couple made a fierce defence of their plans on the website and said they would no longer allow the British press access to their events, instead favouring grassroots outlets.
Harry is worth $A60 million in his own right, while Meghan amassed a $A7.6 million fortune from her acting career.
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