Prince Charles wanted to release a point-by-point response to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah Winfrey interview to address all of the couple's shocking claims, an expert has claimed.
The Prince of Wales is reportedly extremely upset by some of the things his son and daugher-in-law said on the show, which has been watched by millions of people around the world.
Their allegations included that there is racism within the royal family and that Charles cut them off financially when they quit their senior roles and moved to the US.
After the programme aired, Buckingham Palace shared a short statement saying they would deal with the issues privately as a family, adding that "recollections may vary".
But royal editor and expert Katie Nicholl claims that Charles originally wanted to give a much more detailed response.
Speaking to ET, she said: "My understanding is that Prince Charles did want to issue a more detailed statement [in response] to the Oprah interview and possibly address some of those issues point by point.
"But there was an evening to think about things and in the end, it was decided that a shorter statement would be better, [and] that going at things point by point could be potentially more damaging and give more ammunition for the row to continue. I think Prince Charles and Prince William were keen to correct some of the things that the couple had said."
Instead, the family shared a 61-word statement, 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.
"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members."
Katie also explained that Charles was "particularly frustrated" by Harry's claim that his dad cut them off.
She says that those close to the heir to the throne claim he continued to support them financially while they were living in Canada.
Harry has reportedly spoken to both his dad and older brother since the interview, however Meghan's friend Gayle King said the couple have told her the chats were "unproductive".
Speaking on her CBS programme This Morning, Gayle said: "No one in the royal family has spoken to Meghan yet.
"I think what is still upsetting to them is that the Palace keeps saying they want to work it out privately but yet they release these false stories that are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan still.
"And I think it's frustrating to them to see that it's a racial conversation about the royal family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant.
"And until you can acknowledge that, I think it's going to be hard to move forward. But they both want to move forward with this, at the end of the day it's Harry's family."
