The release of Prince Harry's interview with GQ coincided with King Charles hosting the Sultan of Oman for an official state visit at Windsor, a timing that has drawn criticism and renewed scrutiny of the ongoing feud between the Duke of Sussex and the Royal Family.
Although Harry spoke about wanting to repair his relationship with King Charles and Prince William, the publication of the interview threatened to overshadow the state visit. On The Royal podcast, host Roya Nikkhah and Jeremy Griffin, The Times executive editor, discussed the timing, with the host describing the strategy as "curious" and Griffin insisting that the Royal Family knows the true reason behind it.
Team Sussex Defends Timing
Following the release of the interview, in which Harry framed his family rift as a "massively relatable issue" with journalist Zach Baron, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex clarified that it was recorded in late September. Team Sussex insisted that the final release date was entirely the publisher's decision.
Griffin said on the podcast: "They've got form, right. That's why they didn't believe that excuse or reason that was given. Again, on the interpretation of Harry's words, they know exactly that those words can be read in more than one way."
"They know exactly that if you leave that amount of space for vagueness around a comment, the most likely interpretation is going to be that it's Harry criticising William," he added.
Curious Strategy Questioned
Nikkhah added: "The strategy is curious isn't it? You have Harry giving a big sit down interview to GQ in which he reels off, at length, why he wants reconciliation with his family, one of the reasons is to move back closer to his family."
"He says some people don't want it to work out but he does. At the same time, it's blowing out of the water all the coverage about the state visit. It seems a curious strategy to think that's going to improve relations with the Royal Family," she said.
Griffin replied: "Again, I don't buy that that was his real motive either. I have two brothers and occasionally there are family fallouts. What do you do if you fall out with your brother or sister? There might be an awkward few weeks where you don't talk to each other but then you phone them or text them or do something fairly normal."
"What you don't do is give an interview to a major publication timed to coincide with another royal event in which that brother is taking part and tell the world that not everyone wants this thing to work out. It doesn't seem to be a genuine attempt at reconciliation," he added.
Harry's Words and Response
In the interview with GQ, Harry said: "Some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out. With everything else that's going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile - that's the key point."
"Scars stick around forever. But what your perception is, and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, letting go of the past, that's something that I would encourage everybody to do," he said.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said the timing of the release was not their choice. They also said the reference to "some people don't want it to work out" was not a swipe at his brother Prince William or any other member of the Royal Family.
