Prince Philip felt that the Meghan and Harry Oprah interview was “madness” and he was concerned about their “preoccupation” with their own problems, a pal was allegedly told.
The Sussexes made a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey where they laid bare their problems with the Royal Family that included Harry being critical of the way he was brought up and living life in the public eye.
Despite Prince Philip being ill in hospital, Harry and Meghan along with CBS and ITV pushed ahead with the interview broadcast in March.
Philip, who had to undergo a heart operation at St Bartholomew’s, was concerned about the Sussex’s attitude, it is claimed by his friend and biographer Gyles Brandreth, according to royal historian Robert Lacey.
“What did worry him, said Brandreth, was ‘the couple’s preoccupation with their own problems’,” Lacey told the Times.
Lacey continued that Brandreth was told by someone close to Philip that he thought the Oprah interview was “madness” and “no good would come of it”.
Philip died less than a month after the interview was aired and a rift remains between the Sussexes and the Royal Family.
Meghan and Harry have continued to criticise the royals in interviews in the United States with Harry saying that he knew from his early 20s that it wasn’t the life he wanted.
It has now been claimed by Lacey that Prince William and Kate Middleton were worried to speak in depth with Harry at Philip’s funeral as they weren’t sure if he would reveal what was said to the media.
He said that tension in the Royal Family “ran deep” during Philip’s funeral in April, after which Harry quickly returned to California to his pregnant wife.
In an interview with the Armchair Expert podcast, Harry said that he needed to break the cycle over the way that royals were brought up, by treating his children differently in the US.
Harry has been publicly critical of his dad Prince Charles over his upbringing, while confirming that relations with his father have become strained.
Meghan and Harry alleged that a senior royal made racist comments regarding Archie's skin colour during their interview with Oprah.
The Sussexes also said the Duchess had suicidal thoughts during her time in the UK and that she was not given adequate mental health support.
