Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s shocking Oprah Winfrey interview could not have aired at a worse time.
According to royal author Hugo Vickers‘ book Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip reportedly underwent heart surgery mere days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex slammed the royal family in their sit down with the former talk show host.
“The following year, the Duke of Edinburgh, then aged 99, was admitted to the Edward VII Hospital in London for tests. On March 1, he was moved to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, where he had an operation on his heart,” the writer claimed in the biography via Newsweek.
“His medical team nearly lost him twice. On Sunday, March 7, just six days later, with no consideration for the stress Queen Elizabeth II was under, or for the precarious health of the Duke of Edinburgh, a much-heralded interview between the Duchess of Sussex and Oprah Winfrey was screened,” Vickers added.
Before Harry and Meghan departed The Firm in 2020, Her Majesty reportedly seemed suspicious of the pair’s motives.
“Whenever Prince Harry called his grandmother, she asked her lady-in-waiting to stay with her. The distress the Sussexes caused the Queen in the last years of her life cannot be overestimated,” the expert claimed.
“How do I know any of this? My new book is based on 60 years of observation and research, at first from afar (rather like a trainspotter or stamp collector) but gradually closer to the center and more focused,” Vickers said.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive in an open carriage during a rain shower for Ladies Day at Royal Ascot in 2007. By: Anwar Hussein/MEGA
During the bombshell interview, the Suits star opened up about how unhappy she was as a senior member of the royal family,
“I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help, I said I’d never felt this way before … and I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution,” Meghan told Winfrey.
“I wasn’t prepared for that,” the Spare author explained. “I went into a very dark place as well. I wanted to be there for her.”
Harry made it clear that his wife’s struggles wasn’t something the monarchy was prepared to deal with. “That’s just not a conversation that would be had,” Harry said. “I guess I was ashamed of admitting it to them … For the family, they very much have this mentality of: This is how it is.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend an event in England in 2020. By: MEGA
“I didn’t know who to even turn to in that. And one of the people that I reached out to, who’s continued to be a friend and confidant, was one of … [Princess] Diana’s best friends. Because it’s like, who else could understand what it’s actually like on the inside?” Meghan said.