Prince Edward says the royal feud with Meghan and Harry is “very sad” and that the queen has found the situation “difficult” to handle.
In a televised interview with CNN’s Max Foster to mark what would have been Prince Philip’s 100th birthday, Edward was asked about the “family rift.”
“It’s very sad,” Edward said. “Weirdly we’ve all been there before, we’ve all had excessive intrusion and attention in our lives. And we’ve all dealt with it in slightly different ways, and listen, we wish them the very best of luck. It’s a really hard decision. It’s fantastic news about the baby, that’s great. I hope they will be very happy. It’s, just, families are families, aren’t they, you know?”
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Asked how “difficult” it had been for the queen and how she was coping with the very public arguments with Harry and Meghan, Edward replied: “It’s difficult for everyone, it’s difficult for everyone, but that’s families for you.”
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The CNN interview was recorded just hours after The Daily Beast revealed that Harry and Meghan threatened some media outlets with legal action if they repeated a claim made by the BBC that the queen was not consulted in advance about their choice of name for their baby, Lilibet, which was the queen’s childhood nickname.
The BBC said it was provided with the information by senior sources working for the queen.
Edward was also asked how he “viewed” the situation in a televised interview with the BBC, and replied: “I stay way out of it. It’s much the safest place to be.”
When asked if he felt any sadness around the rift, he told the BBC: “Of course, you know. I mean it’s… There are all sorts of issues and circumstances there but we’ve all been there.”
Edward talked to CNN about his father’s death and funeral, which had to be massively scaled down due to COVID regulations, saying, “It was an experience that so many other families have had to go through during this past year or 18 months and so in that sense, it was particularly poignant.”
Edward said the queen is “actually doing remarkably well,” as she mourns her husband but added, “I think there are going to be other times further along in the year where I think that it will become a bit more poignant and a bit harder. But at the moment—thank you very much indeed for asking—I think that everybody’s in pretty good shape really, and just working rather too hard.”
