Prince Harry Says William Was Angry About Him Leaving The UK & 'Screamed' When He Found Out
Prince Harry says things got very tense between him and his brother Prince William after he revealed that he and Meghan Markle would be taking a step back from their royal duties in 2020.
In the second instalment of their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, which was realized on Thursday, Harry describes a meeting his family had at Sandringham House following that announcement, and apparently William and their father, Charles, had strong responses to the news.
It was that moment that became a "wedge" between the two brothers, Harry says.
"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in," Harry recounts on the show.
Harry says when he got to Sandringham, he was given five options. One being that he was all in on his royal duties and nothing would change and five being that he and Markle were all out.
Markle says she was not invited to that meeting and she was back in Canada at the time to be with their son, Archie.
The Duke of Sussex said at the meeting he chose option three, which was half in half out on the couple's royal duties.
"Have our own jobs, but also work in support of the Queen," he said.
"It became very clear very quickly that that goal was not up for discussion or debate," Harry continued.
"But you have to understand from a family's perspective, especially from hers [Queen Elizabeth II], there are ways of doing things, and her ultimate sort of mission, goal, slash responsibility is the institution."
Harry said it was "really hard" and the meeting finished without a "solidified action plan."
He also recalled that the hardest part is what it did to his relationship with his brother.
"The saddest part about it was this wedge created between myself and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side," he noted. "And I get it. Part of that, I get. I understand, right? That's his inheritance."
"To some extent, it's already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability and the continuation of this institution."
According to the royal, that day a story came out claiming that part of the reason for their departure was that "William had bullied us out." Harry says he then learned that the family had put out a joint statement in his and his brother's name to "squash" the story.
"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."
When Harry called Markle to tell her, he says she burst into tears because within four hours "they were happy to lie to protect my brother and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us."
"I said, 'We need to get out of here.'"
According to PEOPLE, Harry and Markle took part in their final royal outings in March 2020 before moving to California via British Columbia.
The outlet notes that it wasn't until nearly a year later that Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple would not be returning to their royal roles.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have not yet publicly responded to the series.
According to Entertainment Tonight, a source told the outlet that the royal family was never asked for comment regarding the docuseries, unlike the disclaimer at the beginning of the series says.
All episodes of Harry & Meghan are available on Netflix.
