Prince Harry claimed in the fifth episode of his new Netflix series that the palace put out a false, joint statement to correct โbullyingโ reports directed at Prince William during the royal familyโs crisis talks surrounding Harry and Meghan Markleโs decision to step back as working royals in January 2020.
After the meetings, which took place at a private residence of the royal family called Sandringham House, Harry said that โa story came out that part of the reason why Meghan and I were leaving was because William had bullied us out.โ
โAnd once I got in the car after the meeting, I was told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and my brotherโs name squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family,โ the Duke of Sussex claimed.
โI couldnโt believe it,โ he said. โNo one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that.โ
โAnd I rang M and I told her and she burst into floods of tears. Because within four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years, they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us,โ he said.
โSuddenly what clicked in my head was, โItโs never gonna stop,โโ Meghan said. โEvery rumor, every negative thing, every lie, everything that I knew wasnโt true, and that the palace knew wasnโt true and internally they knew wasnโt true โ that was just being allowed to fester.โ
The joint statement, which was published on Jan. 13, 2020, was viewed by HuffPost at the time as a standout show of solidarity between the brothers, noting that it is โextremely rare for the royals to publicly issue a personal rebuke on an individual story, especially in a joint statement. The royal family rarely comments on the veracity of reports written about them.โ
Harry added in episode five of โHarry & Meghanโ that โthe saddest part of it was this wedge created between me and my brother, so that heโs now on the institutionโs side.โ
โAnd I get, part of that I get. I understand, right?โ the Duke of Sussex added. โThatโs his inheritance, so to some extent itโs already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability and the continuation of this institution.โ
Earlier episodes alluded to bitterness between the two brothers and the relationship between the royals and the press.
Harry previously spoke of the โdirty gameโ that the palace and media play.
โThereโs a hierarchy of the family,โ the duke says. โYou know, thereโs leaking, but thereโs also planting of stories.โ (HuffPost)