Palace insiders lift lid on royal fallout from Prince Harry’s bombshell interview

Insiders have lifted the lid on the reaction behind Palace doors to the duke’s truly explosive interview in the wake of his court loss.

IN LONDON

The royal fallout from Prince Harry’s explosive BBC interview in the wake of losing his appeal against the UK government over security has been exposed, with those at the Palace reportedly left “horrified”.

Speaking immediately after the ruling in the long-running court battle, which related to the downgrading of Harry’s security arrangements during his visits to the UK, the Duke of Sussex insisted he was keen to end the rift with his family.

“I would love reconciliation with my family,” he told the British broadcaster.

“There’s no point in continuing to fight any more … I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”

The remarks about King Charles, who has been battling cancer, was found to be in particularly “poor taste” among the royal circle, according to the UK’s Telegraph.

Prince Harry gave a blistering interview in the wake of his court loss. Picture: BBC

Insiders added to the publication that the interview will only deepen the rift between Harry and his father, and cement Palace fears that Harry can’t be trusted with their private issues.

“If there were anxieties about things remaining private, then Friday will not have done them the power of good,” a source explained.

The publication quoted an insider claiming that the outburst proved there was “nothing that can be trusted to remain private”, and “as for there being no contact … he has just proven why, yet again.”

Even after his and Meghan’s airing of private family matters in their Netflix docu-series in 2022 and Harry’s memoir, Spare, the personal details shared in Friday’s interview still left many stunned – especially, according to reports, King Charles.

Speaking to the BBC, Harry claimed that his father “won’t speak to me” and also alleged that the royal household had exploited the issue of security to “imprison” members of the family, effectively preventing them from being able to “choose a different life”.

A sign of the significant impact Harry’s blistering words had had on the monarchy came with the Palace’s decision to issue a rare statement on his reaction to the court ruling, with a spokesman pointing out: “All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion.”

‘Truly horrified’

Another royal source told ITV News that “for a son who claims to want a family reconciliation, it’s certainly a very curious way to build bridges or offer olive branches.”

A different insider added that the late Queen would have been “truly horrified” and that the King didn’t need this public spray, on top of everything else.

“The King is a kind man with a warm heart and quite enough on his plate to deal with, without all this from his son,” the source said.

The King – seen here with the Queen – has “enough on his plate”, according to a source. Picture: Paul Campbell-WPA Pool/Getty Images

Meghan’s public show of support

Just hours after Harry’s stunning BBC interview, Meghan took to her Instagram account to share a black-and-white picture of her husband with their two children, in what many saw as a public show of support.

The Duchess of Sussex’s picture showed Harry holding six-year-old Prince Archie’s hand, with Princess Lilibet, three, on his shoulders, walking in a garden, showcasing the strength of their family unit.

Meghan posted this shortly after Harry’s interview. Picture: Instagram/Meghan Markle

Meghan also gushed over her marriage to Harry and praised him for supporting her as she launched her multiple businesses recently in an interview on Jamie Kern Lima’s podcast.

“H, that man loves me so much and you know, look what we’ve built, we’ve built. We have built a beautiful life and we have two healthy beautiful children,” she told the host.

“I always think about it, when you get the end of Super Mario Bros, the final level and what’s the goal in Super Mario.

“It’s to slay the dragons and save the princess. And that’s my husband, he just out there and constantly doing whatever he can to make sure our family is safe and protected and that we are uplifted – and still make time for date nights.”

‘No distractions’

It comes as Palace sources revealed that the King wants “no distractions” as the royal family stepped out for the VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations this week.

The Telegraph reports that the royals want “nothing” to pull focus from the occasion, which will mark the sacrifices made by veterans during World War Two.

Events will run throughout this week marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, with senior members of the family taking part.

The King was joined by the Queen, Prince William, Kate and their children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – to watch commemorations in London on Monday, which included a military procession from Buckingham Palace.