This week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were felicitated with the Anti-Racism Award at the Ripple of Hope Gala in NYC, organised by the Robert. F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation. The award was given way to the Dutch and Duchess of Sussex for their bold stance against “structural racism” in the royal family.
Harry and Markle continue to make startling revelations in their Netflix docu-series, “Harry and Meghan” Volume 1 dropped Thursday (Dec. 8) in three episodes. While we all know that tensions between Prince Harry and the royal family have escalated over the past few years, things took a turn when he and his wife, Meghan stepped down as senior royals in 2020. Here is everything that took place between the royals and the couple.
Prince Harry, A Reflection Of Princess Diana
If you ask any princess Diana fans, they’d say Prince Harry is a true reflection of his mother Princess Diana, who continued to maintain a bold stand against the British royal family’s ill practices until she died in 1997. After her, it was Prince Harry who shook the very foundation of this royal family. Harry was just 12 when Princess Diana died.
Even though King Charles may have expressed love for Harry and Meghan during the queen’s death, there’s much more that went down among the royals. Prince Harry, who is the fifth in line to the royal throne, has always been a rebel. As his father describes, “He likes to take matters into his own hands.” A royal insider once revealed that Harry had been living under the shadow of his brother, Prince William until their relations continue to become bitter.
Stepping Down As Senior Members…
A major blow to the royal family came when Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals in 2020. During a tell-all interview on CBS in 2020, Harry revealed in a joint statement: “No, I never blindsided my grandmother. I have too much respect for her.” He said it was a reference to his plan to step down as senior royal. In February 2021, the couple confirmed their exit was permanent.
On the other hand, Meghan Markle revealed that they never left the royal family, explaining that they only stepped down from their professional roles. Well, we all know that the royal was not happy with Harry’s choice. However, Meghan sugarcoated words and said: “OK, if this isn’t working for everyone, we’re in a lot of pain, you can’t provide us with the help that we need, we can just take a step back. We can do it in a commonwealth country.’ We suggested New Zealand, South Africa.”
Things Go South With Prince Charles
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shifted to Canada, things went south between Prince Harry and his father. When he was in Canada, Harry had three conversations with Queen Elizabeth II and two conversations with his father, Prince Charles. But then, he stopped taking Harry’s calls.
During an interaction, Prince Charles told him: ‘Can you put this all in what your plan is?’”. I put all the specifics in there, even the fact that we were planning on putting the announcement out.” Prince Harry claimed that Charles started ignoring his calls because Harry already began to take “matters into [his] own hands.”
Harry claimed Charles began ignoring his attempts to reach out because his son was already forced to take “matters into [his] own hands.” Shockingly, Harry supported his father during his wedding to now-Queen Consort Camilla.
In 2005, Harry spoke about Camilla Parker Boles that she is not the “wicked stepmother” and that people must feel sorry for her because of the position she was put in. But then, once described as “co-workers”, Harry and Charles’s relationship got strained after Harry stepped down from his royal duties. Not to mention, Harry’s bickering about his father during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Even though King Charles recently asked to be kept away from the Netflix drama, it was he who questioned Meghan’s colour as mentioned in a book. There are rumours that the royal family would come up for an interview to rebut the claims made by the royal couple.
Prince William Never Accepted Meghan Markle…
The biggest drama which took place in the royal family was Prince Harry & Markle Vs. Prince William & Kate. While people thought the real trouble began between Kate and Meghan, it was Harry and William who were fighting against each other. An insider once reported that William called Harry “driven by lust”, referring to his wife Meghan.
To start from the beginning, rumours began to circulate right before Harry and Meghan’s wedding that the bride made Kate Middleton “cry” during a fitting for Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress. However, Meghan later claimed in an interview that things happened the other way around.
She explained: “That was a turning point. … The narrative with Kate, it didn’t happen,” Meghan said. “A few days before the wedding she was upset about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry. It really hurt my feelings. … She was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.”
As for Harry and William, the elder brother thought that Harry and Meghan were moving too fast. In their book, “Finding Freedom”, royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claimed that Harry was “pissed off” at William, who thought he was “blindsided by lust”
Things went for a toss after a British newspaper published a letter Meghan posted to her father. In his statement, Harry defended his wife while calling out the “British tabloid press” for “false and malicious” reporting about his wife. “Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people,” he stated in October 2019. “We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.”
In 2019, Harry admitted that his relationship with William was strained and that they were on “different paths”. On the contrary, an insider claimed that even though the two have grown apart, William still cares about Harry and is wanting him to open up about his struggles. “Despite their differences, blood is thicker than water,” the royal insider claimed.
Meghan’s Attacks On The Royals…
While a lot of things went down between Meghan and the royal, it was during a 2019 interview with Tom Bradby, that Harry and Meghan hinted at their unhappiness. “I have said for a long time to H, that’s what I call [Harry],” she expressed.
“It’s not enough to just survive something. That’s not the point of life. You have to thrive. You have got to feel happy,’” the former Suits actress admitted that she wasn’t okay.
“I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a ‘stiff upper lip.’ I really tried, but I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging,” she added.
Another bombshell interview with Ophrah Winfrey escalated the drama to the next level. In 2021, Price Harry too appeared alongside Oprah and opened up about the racist articles written against Meghan and how the royal family didn’t help. Back then, the now-deceased queen stated that harry was “a little over-in-love” with Meghan but the royal family had always welcomed her.
Meghan and Harry first called out the royal family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, accusing unnamed members of the British royal family of racism. If you aren’t aware, Meghan accused these members of raising “concerns” about the “skin colour” of her and Harry’s children. However, she declined to name anyone as it would be too “damaging” for the royals. During the interview, Meghan was seen breaking down in tears as she narrated the “structural racism” in the royal family.
As for the recent docu-series, royal expert Tom Bower talked to Page Six about how the royal family has been handling the conflict. “Well, they’re shocked by it all,” he shared on Thursday (Dec. 8). “The question is only, this is really a story in the air, is whether they’re going to interview to rebut the claims, or whether they’re going to strip them [Harry and Meghan] of the titles,” he expressed.
Presently, Meghan Markle and Harry are living in the United States, specifically the sunny state of California, and away from their royal duties. They reside in an £11 million mansion. During the queen’s death, the royal family united to pay their respect to their beloved queen. Harry and Meghan were also present for the rituals.
That being said, being a royal comes with its drawbacks. We don’t know if Harry and Charles’ relationship has improved, but he did express love for the couple during the queen’s funeral. We can say that Harry may have given up a lot for Meghan, but he cannot run away from his royal roots. While America is celebrating the couple’s boldness, the Brits are certainly disappointed. What do you think?
