There was more to Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s royal troubles than not receiving protection from vicious media outlets.
Sometimes, the animosity was “coming from inside the house,” so to speak.
On this week’s episode of the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries, the Duke of Sussex spoke about an infamous family meeting.
His own brother, Prince William, “screamed” and “shouted” at him over his departure from royal life.
On January 13, 2020, Prince Harry attended a meeting inside Sandringham House.
It was a family meeting, of a sort. But in this particular family, this also means a meeting about the business and brand.
The topic of discussion was, of course, his and Meghan Markle’s decision to leave their active positions within the firm.
On this week’s installment of Harry & Meghan, he opened up about how Meghan would have been part of the meeting. However, it mysteriously didn’t happen until she returned to Canada.
“It was clear to me that they’d planned it so that you weren’t in the room,” Harry told his wife.
He then shared that he went into the meeting with the “same proposal that we’d already made publicly. But once I got there, I was given 5 options.”
Harry went on to explain the range of offers that his family made.
“One being, all in, no change. Five being, all out,” he explained.
Harry detailed: “I chose option three in the meeting. Half in, half out.”
“Have our own jobs, but also work in support of the Queen,” Harry characterized the arrangement.
“It became very clear very quickly that goal was not up for discussion or debate,” he admitted.
The most galling part of this was the betrayal from his own family. This was not new, but it hurt.
“It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me,” Prince Harry admitted.
“And,” he continued, to have “my father say things that just simply weren’t true.”
Harry concluded “And my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there, and sort of take it all in.”
As for his beloved grandmother, Harry admitted that she was of the opinion that “there are ways of doing things.”
He continued, explaining “and her ultimate sort of mission, goal/responsibility is the institution.”
Harry also detailed that this toxic meeting “finished without any solidified action plan.”
“I think from their perspective,” Harry speculated, “that it was more about us and maybe the issues that we had.”
He continued: “as opposed to their partner, the media, and themselves.”
“And that relationship that was causing so much pain for us,” Harry lamented. “They saw what they wanted to see.”
Prince Harry admitted that the “saddest part” of this miserable situation was “this wedge created between myself and my brother.”
The wedge was “so that he’s now on the institution’s side.”
Harry generously continued: “Part of that, I get. I understand, right? That’s his inheritance.”
However, after the meeting, he heard that the royal firm had released a fake “joint statement” from him and his brother.
The statement, which Harry did not give or approve, quashed a rumor that William had “bullied” Harry and Meghan into leaving.
“I couldn’t believe it. No one had asked me. No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that,” Harry emphasized on Netflix.
This really drew into focus how little the family was willing to protect his wife.
“Within 4 hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother,” Harry pointed out.
“And yet for 3 years,” he grimly contrasted, “they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
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