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The public-relations battle between Buckingham Palace and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appears to have reached a new level of animosity on Sunday.
Writing in The Sunday Times, Tom Bradby, who directed an ITV film, “Harry & Meghan: An African Journey,” which aired in the U.S. on Disney’s DIS, -0.14% ABC last year, alleged that the couple’s plan to move to North America may have been leaked by Buckingham Palace. “It gives an indication of just how poisonous and frankly Machiavellian the modern House of Windsor has become.”
Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request from MarketWatch for comment on Bradby’s article, but the paper quoted a source close to Buckingham Palace that denied the Sussexes had been forced out as senior members of the royal family. A statement released last week by Buckingham Palace said discussions were at an early stage and would take time.
‘The fallout began at the time of the wedding in 2018. Really damaging things were said and done. The atmosphere soured hard and early, but few meaningful attempts were made by anyone to heal the wounds.’
“The young couple, newly returned and refreshed from their six weeks away, wanted to meet other members of their family and officials to discuss their plans to work toward becoming financially independent in a newly slimmed-down monarchy. Harry was asked to put pen to paper with some ideas for discussion. He was reluctant, on the grounds that such documents normally leak.”
Bradby, who attended the couple’s 2018 wedding, alleged that Harry walked into a public-relations trap. “He was persuaded and did as he was asked,” he wrote in a 1,600-word essay, “Escape from the poisonous palace.”
“The document, or its details, was shortly afterwards leaked to The Sun.” After the Sussexes released their statement, “palace officials claimed to have been blindsided by it.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced on Instagram FB, -0.11% on Wednesday that they intended to “work to become financially independent” and move overseas. Markle left for Canada on Thursday. Harry is expected to join her when he finishes hashing out a deal on a new hybrid royal status with his father, Prince Charles; his brother, Prince William; and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Since their engagement three years ago, Markle has dealt with press coverage that has been described by some as both overtly and covertly racist. Newspapers reported that the queen was “disappointed” with their announcement, and had asked the couple to hold off on issuing a statement about their plans before the financials and logistics were all worked out.
On Sunday, Bradby also acknowledged that the royal scandal is more complicated than it appears: “It is quite hard to know who is right and who is wrong in this, and foolish perhaps to even try to decide. Some other members of the family say Harry and particularly his wife come across as extremely difficult. They feel they have done their absolute best to create space for the newcomer.”
“Harry and Meghan, on the other hand, find some other members of the family (with the exception of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh) jealous and, at times, unfriendly,” he added. “The fallout began at the time of the wedding in 2018. Really damaging things were said and done. The atmosphere soured hard and early, but few meaningful attempts were made by anyone to heal the wounds.”
Bradby alleged that the unfriendly atmosphere effectively forced the Sussexes to leave “The Firm,” as the House of Windsor is referred to by the British media. “It is pretty clear to me from conversations with both sides that this exit could suit everyone, at least in terms of narrow self-interest,” Bradby added. “But there is no doubt Harry and Meghan feel they have been driven out.”
Harry receives an income from his father, Prince Charles, but the Sussexes are expected to give that up. Harry, who is already worth several million dollars, owes his fortune to three famous women: his mother, the late Princess Diana, who became a global superstar; his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II; and his wife, Meghan Markle, an American-born self-made former actress.
Markle told Bradby’s ITV documentary that she had a difficult time adapting to life with the often critical media attention in the U.K. “I’ve really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I’ve tried, I’ve really tried, I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging,” she said. “The biggest thing that I know is that I never thought this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair.”
