Royal warfare erupted again last night after Harry and Meghan revealed deeply private family conversations to a journalist friend.
They told Gayle King that the prince had finally spoken to his father and brother following the explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Hours later, Miss King disclosed on American TV that the talks ‘were not productive’. The breakfast show host also suggested that Meghan was unhappy no one in the Royal Family had thought to telephone her.
And, in a thinly-veiled threat, the presenter said the duchess had ‘documents to back up everything she said on Oprah’s interview’.
The fact the Sussexes chose to reveal sensitive discussions between senior members of the Royal Family met with an icy response from Buckingham Palace.
‘None of the households – the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – will be giving a running commentary on private conversations,’ said a senior royal source.
It was clear, however, that both the Windsors and senior officials see it as a severe betrayal of trust and unhelpful to attempts to rebuild bridges.
Harry and Meghan have prompted fresh outrage after sharing private conversations with Prince Charles and Prince William with US journalist Gayle King
Prince William, when he was questioned by a TV reporter on a public engagement last Thursday, said he had not yet spoken to his younger brother, but vowed he would.
He also insisted the Royal Family were not racists after Meghan claimed one member had raised ‘concerns’ about ‘how dark’ her baby’s skin would be, and suggested there was an attempt to deprive Archie of a title and security because he was of mixed race.
The duchess also said she had been given so little support by the Palace that she suffered suicidal thoughts.
Meghan Markle is reportedly unhappy after no one in the Royal Family had thought to telephone her following her bombshell interview, alongside husband Prince Harry, with Oprah Winfrey
Harry said he felt ‘really let down’ by his father, accused him of cutting him off financially and refusing to take his calls, while also revealing the gulf with William.
The Queen responded to the Oprah interview with a deeply personal message saying that while ‘some recollections vary’, the issues raised, particularly that of race, were ‘concerning’ and would be taken seriously.
Significantly, however, she emphasised that from now on the difficulties would be addressed by the family privately.
There have been a handful of stories published in the UK media reporting that Charles and William felt hurt by what Harry had said, but with very little detail on what was taking place behind the scenes.
Prince William is pictured driving outside Kensington Palace in London on Tuesday, after it was revealed he had spoken with Harry over the weekend
The Duke of Cambridge was seen in London on Tuesday afternoon after Gayle King revealed his conversation with Prince Harry
That was turned on its head yesterday when Miss King, who attended Meghan’s baby shower in New York in 2019 and is Miss Winfrey’s closest friend, decided to speak out on her prime-time morning show on CBS, the same channel that broadcast the Oprah interview.
Harry was accused of ‘embarrassing’ hypocrisy this week for speaking to CBS, which caused outrage in 2004 by showing a photograph of his mother dying in a 1997 car crash in Paris.
Miss King told viewers she had called Harry and Meghan at their £10million California home ‘over the weekend’ to discuss the fall-out from the interview and revealed they had told her details of their intimate conversations.
She said: ‘Well I’m not trying to break news, but I did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too.
‘The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.’
Miss King also claimed the couple were unhappy that ‘the Palace’ had allegedly been leaking what they believed were untrue stories to the media.
She added: ‘And I think what is still upsetting to them is the Palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still.’
Gayle King revealed Prince Harry had spoken to his father, Prince Charles, and his brother, Prince William, over the weekend, but talks did not help repair a rift within the royal family
She made clear that the duchess was unhappy that no one in the family had called her. ‘No one in the Royal Family has talked to Meghan yet, at this particular time,’ she said.
The Sussexes effectively accused the Royal Family and Buckingham Palace of institutional racism in their interview with Miss Winfrey.
But Miss King claimed they felt ‘frustrated’ that much of the coverage had focused on this – when they had apparently wanted only to provoke the monarchy into taking action against the media, which they believe has a racist agenda against Meghan.
Speaking on CBS This Morning, Gayle King said: ‘Meghan has documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah’s interview. Everything’
‘It’s frustrating for 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,’ Miss King said.
‘And until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s going to be hard to move forward.’
She also raised the issue of the investigation launched earlier this month by Buckingham Palace into how claims of bullying against Meghan lodged by a senior member of staff were handled.
She said: ‘Anyone who has worked with her will tell you exactly who she is. You know, she’s really a very sweet, caring person.’ There was no immediate indication from the couple’s team of PR representatives – either in London or California – as to whether Miss King was speaking at their request.