The Duke of Sussex faced accusations of "breathtaking arrogance" after disclosing private details of a meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, prompting an unprecedented response from Downing Street.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where they spoke candidly about the alleged inner workings of the Royal Family, placing considerable strain on their relationship with the Firm.
From their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 to Harry's memoir Spare in 2023, the Sussexes frequently discussed how they felt they had been treated within the Firm and what had driven them to walk away. Even during interviews on unrelated subjects, such as their charitable work, the conversation often returned to the Royal Family.
Harry's 2022 Interview About the Late Queen
One striking example came in 2022, when Harry travelled to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games in The Hague. He sat down with NBC US breakfast show Today to discuss his role in the tournament, but the conversation quickly turned back to the Firm.
During the chat with presenter Hoda Kotb, Harry revealed that on his way to the Netherlands, he and Meghan had made a brief stopover in the UK for a private tea with the late Queen Elizabeth. The couple arrived at Windsor Castle, marking their first return to the UK since stepping away from royal responsibilities in 2020.
Speaking days after the visit, Harry said he felt a personal duty to ensure his grandmother was "protected and got the right people around her". He added that it had been refreshing to meet her "in some element of privacy", saying: "It was so nice to see her. She's in great form. She's always got a great sense of humour with me."
Accusations of Arrogance
The Duke also claimed that the late Queen would share secrets with him that she could not discuss with "anybody else".
Following the interview, Harry was accused of "breathtaking arrogance", with "no bounds to his self-delusion". Royal expert Tom Bower noted in his book Revenge that Harry's remarks made it appear that "King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince William and all of the Queen's staff were inadequate for the task".
As public worries about the late Queen's wellbeing mounted, Harry's comments triggered an unprecedented intervention from Downing Street, who rejected his implication that the Queen required enhanced protection.
Downing Street Response
When asked whether the Prime Minister had confidence in the arrangements at the time to safeguard the Queen's welfare, a spokesman for Boris Johnson, then Prime Minister, responded simply: "Yes."
Following Harry's NBC interview, the royal family attempted to shield the Queen from additional speculation as they marked what would prove to be the Monarch's final birthday before her death in September of that year.
