Prince Harry had an agreement with US and UK broadcasters to pull his bombshell interview with wife Meghan Markle should his grandfather Prince Phillip have passed away.
Friend to the couple, US TV host Gayle King, made the revelation as she provided yet more details of their conversations.
Before the interview with Oprah Winfrey, CBS refused to confirm to the Mirror information the Duke of Sussex had asked them to hold the broadcast if his grandfather died.
But now King has admitted a deal was in place before the March 7 broadcast in the US and a day later on ITV.
"Well, just so you know, they had done that interview before Prince Phillip went into the hospital, and if something, God forbid, had happened to him, the interview would not have run at this particular time," she said.
"But the interview was done and was scheduled before he went into the hospital. But a lot of people have raised that point."
King, the best friend of Oprah, appears confused over the Sussexes interview's timing as Prince Philip was admitted on Tuesday, February 16, to King Edward VII's hospital.
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Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, reportedly sat down with Oprah on the Wednesday and Thursday of that week.
King has been leading the charge for the couple broadcasting details of the couple's private conversations with other royals, including Prince William and Prince Charles.
Harry and Meghan are said to "have blown apart" any hopes for peace after telling King talks with William and Charles were "not productive", it has been claimed.
It is understood senior figures at Buckingham Palace were angered at the breach in trust shown by the couple and King, especially so soon after the couple's tell-all interview with Oprah.
Appearing on the offensive again, the US This Morning host backed her pal Meghan saying the Duchess had proof backing up the allegations she made against the royal during the Oprah interview.
During a radio show, King insisted the Royals' treatment of the couple, who live in an £11 million mansion in Montecito outside Los Angeles, was poor.
She said their decision to attack the monarchy was because they "wanted people to have some understanding about why they made the decision" to Megxit.
King defended Markle on her Sirius XM radio show, saying: "I think that Harry and Meghan both have been through so much for the past three years and they really have tried to work it out privately.
"They really have tried to get help, and nothing was working.
"So I think they wanted people to have some understanding about why they made the decision that they made and what they've been going through, and I do think that they accomplished that. I do.
"I think it was very brave of her and Harry to reveal what they did. It's unheard of, and it certainly has been a 'bombshell' is the word.
"There were six or seven that night. I stopped counting at six. It was bombshell, after bombshell, after bombshell, but I do believe it was an honest conversation.
"I'm hoping it will lead to change."
King took Markle's side over the row with royals, insisting that the Queen's statement that "whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately."
King added: "Well, I think part of the problem, as Meghan explained, she was vilified for making Kate cry when really the opposite was true."
The American also appeared to gloat over Piers Morgan's departure from Good Morning Britain, claiming he was pushed as opposed to walking away.
King, who attended Markle's New York baby shower, praised Morgan's colleague Alex Beresford saying he let "Piers have it on the air".
She said: "Piers Morgan is no longer with a job. He stormed off the air after saying that I don't believe that she had mental illness, I don't believe she was suicidal, and they got over 41,000 calls of people weighing in to say that is not okay, that is not cool.
"And by the next day, he was out of a job. He said he resigned. I find that a little hard to believe when you had 41,000 calls.
"And kudos to his co-anchor, they said it was the weather guy.
"I wonder if he was the weather guy, but they described him as a weather guy, who spoke out and really let Piers have it on the air, and then Piers stormed off, and now Piers is no longer on the air there."
The 66-year-old telly anchor boasted Harry and Meghan's interview scored almost 100 million viewers thanks to pal Oprah "halo".
Royal sources told the Mirror King's revelations "would cause alarm" among senior royals that private conversations were being used against them while adding: "This type of behaviour could have huge implications for trust between the camps moving forward."
Refusing to be drawn into a public war of words, a senior palace source said: "None of the households - the Queen, Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge - will be giving a running commentary on private conversations."
