Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made one particular move, after they left the Royal Family which was seen as the ultimate act of “betrayal” by the late Queen Elizabeth, sources have claimed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior working royals back in 2020.
In the next three years, they went on a major campaign against the royals, claiming various things about their life within the Firm through a series of interviews, a Netflix doc and the duke’s bombshell memoir, Spare. But there was one particular moment, at a crucial time for the late monarch, which left her feeling “betrayed”, according to a new report.
Harry and Meghan gave their bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, where they made a number of bombshell claims about the royals, including about their relationship with members of the Firm, racism and how their mental health was affected.
The couple’s fractured relationship with the Royal Family came back into the spotlight in recent weeks after author Sally Bedell Smith revealed in her Substack column various conversations she’s had with the late Queen’s cousin and close confidante, Lady Elizabeth Anson.
Now, a new source, a former courtier, opened up about the late Queen’s “dismay” regarding her grandson after the Oprah interview.
They told the Daily Beast: “Ultimately, the queen felt betrayed by Harry, and when he and Meghan attacked the institution that she spent her whole life serving in the Oprah interview, that betrayal was complete. It was absolutely shocking to those of us that knew him that he would do that, not least because her husband was on his deathbed.”
The interview was broadcast on March 7 and the late Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, just 33 days later.
While the Palace did not originally respond to the Sussexes’ explosive claims, it released a statement two days later after growing pressure, which said: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning.
“While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
The ex royal staffer said: “The allegations of racism dismayed [the late Queen]. To accuse an unidentified person within the family of racism, thereby casting the shadow of suspicion over everyone, was unforgivable in her eyes.
“That was what ultimately prompted her to issue the ‘recollections may vary’ statement. Things were never the same after that… It was a horrific series of betrayals at the end of her life.”
