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Harry and William’s broken bond threatens Diana statue unveiling
The post-Oprah enmity between Prince William and Harry is so deep that it is “unthinkable” they will reunite for a long-scheduled unveiling of a memorial to their mother Princess Diana, The Sun on Sunday reports.
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The paper says that the royal siblings are “as far apart as it’s possible to be” after the Sussexes accused the royals of racism, and said his brother and father were “trapped” in royal life.
William denied the non-specific accusations this week, telling reporters the royals were “not a racist a family,” however the royals have said they will tackle the accusations “privately” (for which read: no further public refutation of the shocking claims).
Relations between the two brothers have been severely strained since Harry and Meghan announced their plans to “step back” from the family, but look utterly shattered after the Oprah interview in which Meghan and Harry denounced an unnamed member of the royal family as racist, putting all of the royals, including William, under a cloud of suspicion. The Sun reports that the princes have exchanged texts following the interview but have not spoken. This tallies with a claim in The Sunday Times that they have “been in contact.”
Although it had long been assumed that both brothers would be present together when the statue of their mum—which they commissioned—is unveiled in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in July, this now looks in peril.
A source told The Sun on Sunday: “William and Harry are as far apart as it’s possible to be—emotionally and physically. Their relationship is at rock bottom. William’s raging with Harry after the Oprah interview.
“He is so angry with him that it’s totally unthinkable at the moment for them to be happily reunited and stood together at the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue. It’ll take a lot of work to patch things up so they can put on united front.”
Another person massively pissed with Harry: Prince Charles
Charles is said to be “upset and cut up” by Harry’s claim that his father had “cut him off” financially during the couple’s interview.
A source close to Charles told The Sunday Times: “It was a surprise to hear he’d been cut off, given the bank statements. The prince continued to provide Harry and Meghan with financial support after their move to America, while they found their feet.”
A more candid friend of Charles added: “What fucking hypocrisy. When Harry and Meghan left last year, they wanted to become ‘financially independent.’”
The Mail on Sunday adds that Charles plans to contact Harry within the next few weeks.
The friend said: “You are looking at a father who is deeply hurt by where he finds his relationship with his son. But, after much reflection, he also realizes that nothing good will come of prolonging the fight. He feels it is time to heal. Now is the time to mend a broken relationship. The Prince has a real desire to get back to the close relationship that he enjoyed with Harry for the longest time.”
Kate visits Sarah Everard vigil
Kate Middleton visited the London vigil for Sarah Everard, who was killed after she was abducted from a London street in a crime that has horrified Britain. Kensington Palace sources told the Sun Kate’s presence at Clapham Common’s Bandstand Saturday was because she “remembers what it’s like to walk in London alone.” Kate’s visit was private, with flowers picked from palace grounds, the paper reported.
Everard’s death has prompted many women to speak out about how imperiled they feel their safety is, and the urgent need for men to confront and change their behavior.
A Palace source told the Sun: “The Duchess wanted to pay her respects to Sarah and her family. She remembers what it felt like to walk around London at night before she got married.”
Everard, 33, lived in Brixton, and disappeared on March 3 after walking back from a friend’s home in Clapham. British police confirmed on Friday that Everard’s body had been discovered around 50 miles from where she was last seen in woodland in Ashford. Kent. Her body was discovered in a builder’s bag, and identified using dental records.
Wayne Couzens, a Metropolitan Police officer was arrested in connection with Everard’s murder, and appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning. The Scotsman reported that Couzens was accused of kidnapping Ms Everard in Clapham; he was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on March 16.
On Saturday night, as police arrested women who had gathered to protest at the Common, cries rang out of, “Arrest your own,” and, “Shame on you.” The police’s heavy-handed behavior has prompted calls for the resignation of Metropolitan Police chief Cressida Dick.
The Telegraph described Kate’s appearance as “arguably the most calculated attempt to move the dial of a major political issue since the queen’s famous 2014 intervention in the Scottish independence referendum.” That’s debatable. What’s not is how powerful a reminder of the good royals can do in focusing the national conversation—when they stop sniping at each other.
Palace continues Harry and Meghan fightback
Buckingham Palace is not budging. Indeed, it seems to have been emboldened by Harry and Meghan’s tumbling popularity in the U.K., and the British tabloids—singled out by Harry as purveyors of bigotry—continuing to contest elements of the Oprah interview.
According to a YouGov poll, reported by the Daily Mail, Harry’s popularity is down 3 points and Meghan’s by 13 since Sunday’s broadcast. As The Daily Beast has reported, age provides a stark contrast: young people like Harry and Meghan, older people, not so much.
However, in all the pushback to what Harry and Meghan told Oprah, no one has managed to indisputably prove what they said was false.
The queen in her statement may say that “some recollections may vary,” and Prince William may deny he is from a racist family, but the royals—and Harry and Meghan’s many British critics—are yet to answer the specific claims made against the royal family.
Again: Meghan claimed a member of the royal family raised “concerns” to Harry about the darkness of the then-unborn Archie’s skin. Harry made a similar claim but his account differed to Meghan’s account regarding when the conversation took place. They did not name the member of the family. Did this happen? Who was it? What were the circumstances of it being said if it was?
Meghan claimed she was ignored by palace officials, having made them aware of her declining mental health. Meghan said she had felt suicidal and was left to fend for herself. Again, the palace has yet to answer this.
The PR fightback of the palace, and the mission of the tabloids, seems to be to raise as many clouds of diverting dust as possible—and malign Harry and Meghan into the bargain.
The particular focus of the counter-strike this weekend is Buckingham Palace’s inquiry into the headline-making pre-interview claims that the Duchess of Sussex bullied royal staff. The Sunday Times reports this investigation is to be handed to independent external investigators, a third-party law firm, considerably raising the temperature.
Ahead of the Oprah interview it was leaked that two senior members of staff claimed they were bullied by Meghan. Another former employee said they had been personally “humiliated” and claimed two members of staff had been bullied. Meghan denies the allegations.
This week in royal history
On March 18, 1986, the engagement of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson was officially announced. The marriage didn’t survive, but the couple’s friendship did—even as scandal, including Andrew’s official excommunication from royal life, has swirled around them both.
Unanswered questions
The big questions Harry and Meghan raised around a specific incidence of alleged racism, and a lack of care around Meghan’s mental health, remain unanswered, as the palace relies on British public goodwill and business-as-usual to see them through.
