Prince Harry and Meghan’s 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview sent shockwaves across the globe and their revelations and claims about the Royal Family are still often talked about to this day. Now a new royal biography of the Princess of Wales has delved into how she and Prince William reacted to the tell-all exclusive.
In Kate! The Courage, Grace and Power of the Woman who will be Queen, Christopher Andersen claims that Prince William was perhaps hardest hit by his brother’s unprecedented move. So much so he was reportedly left “literally sick with worry” and “too distracted to think of food”.
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Over 85 minutes Harry and Meghan shared their version of events, including their suggestion that a member of the Royal Family questioned what their first baby’s skin colour might be, and the Prince called his older brother “trapped” in the institution.
At the time, the late Queen Elizabeth II issued a rare public statement in response instead of sticking by her age-old “never complain, never explain” ethos.
She declared, “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.”
(Image credit: Dominic Lipinski / POOL / AFP / Getty)
As well as witnessing the toll her brother-in-law’s comments had on her family, Andersen’s new book alleges that there was a specific moment years later where Kate – who had previously been quietly trying to act as peacemaker – reached her limits.
In a May last year, the Duke of Sussex told the BBC about his wish to reconcile with his family, saying “life is precious” and he didn’t “know how much longer [his] father has”.
King Charles made his cancer diagnosis public in 2024 and his younger son’s comments were met with outrage by some at the time. There were suggestions he had somewhat sensationalised the King’s illness and caused alarm for his health.
In an excerpt from the book, Andersen writes, “The damage was done: seeds of doubt concerning the King’s chances for a full recovery had been sown.”
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He also suggested that Prince Harry’s remarks left Kate “more disappointed than angry”, whilst her husband was supposedly enraged.
“William, who had already slammed the door shut on his brother over what Harry wrote in Spare, was, in the words of a courtier, ‘apoplectic’ with rage,” Andersen alleged. “Now it was time to nail the door shut once and for all, and for the first time Kate, who had worked harder than anyone to mend the rift between the brothers, willingly handed her husband a hammer.”
A Sandringham staffer also told the author “Princess Catherine is ‘the sweetest, most loving person you could ever know… but like everyone else, she has her limits”.