MEGHAN and Harry have “lost control” and their rift with William is “the last thing” Princess Diana would have wanted, according to a top royal expert.
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond spoke out just days before Oprah Winfrey’s much-heralded chat with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is due to air.
She told Sky News: “It’s a really unedifying spectacle and I feel sorry for the Queen that as the husband, Prince Philip, lies in hospital she has to watch her family disintegrate.
“The two brothers, a huge rift between them… all these accusations flying around… it must be really depressing for the Queen.
“The fact of the matter is they [Meghan and Harry] have signed a deal with CBS … and they have ceded control, which is curious and ironic because what they really wanted was to take control of their lives.
“I knew Diana and she talked to me about her boys and this is just the last thing on earth she would have wanted to see, this rift between her boys.”
It’s been reported Harry first fell out with William when he “betrayed” the Queen by announcing his Megxit plans without consulting her first.
A book ‘Battle of Brothers’ later claimed the relationship was “utterly broken” by Harry’s decision.
Senior members of the family saw it as a huge mark of disrespect that he rushed out his plans on his website and Instagram before agreeing it with the Queen.
It comes amid claims that:
- Meghan had ‘furious rows’ with palace aides over freebie designer clothes
- Meghan’s pal accused the palace of racism – and said the star ‘knew it would get ugly’ before the Oprah interview aired
- The Duchess ignored aides’ advice not to wear earrings gifted by the Saudi prince weeks after the murder of a journalist
- Furious palace sources said the allegations about Meghan are not a smear campaign – and branded her ‘disingenuous’
- Harry ‘spoke to his wife about her behaviour when talking to staff’ – even ‘gently admonishing her’ for the way she spoke to them
- The former actress ‘turned and hissed’ at a member of staff during a row in a Fiji market – leaving the employee ‘in tears’
Sources say William was stunned at Harry’s move to throw away his duty and service to the crown, and furious that the Queen had been backed into a corner.
It was then reported that Wills was hoping to patch things up with his brother but only if he didn’t “unleash” on Oprah.
However, a new trailer for the bombshell interview was released overnight and features Meghan accusing the Royal Family of “perpetuating falsehoods” and telling the interviewer “there’s a lot has been lost”.
In the clip, Oprah asks Meghan: “How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?”
A visibly-emotional Meghan replies: “I don’t know how they could expect that after all of this time we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us.”
She adds: “And, if that comes with risk of losing things, there is a lot that has been lost already.”
The “falsehoods” the Duchess refers to aren’t yet known – as the interview was filmed in LA before claims emerged in The Times that she drove two personal assistants out of the household and undermined the confidence of a third.
Meghan strongly denies the allegations.
However, royal aides said they were left ‘shaking with fear’ following run-ins with the her – and last night, Buckingham Palace announced a formal probe into the allegations.
Members of staff will be invited to contribute in confidence.
In response to the reports, Meghan and Harry accused the Queen’s staff of orchestrating a “calculated smear campaign” ahead of their explosive two-hour interview.
Meanwhile, it’s today been revealed that shortly before the clip was broadcast, the Duke of Edinburgh underwent a ‘successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition’.
He will remain in hospital for ‘treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days’.
There’s been widespread condemnation that the interview will air while Prince Philip remains unwell.
And sources say the Royal Family will need to ‘hide behind the sofa’ for the chat – while fears over the content are likely to have deepened after clips were shared.
A trailer released earlier this week shows Winfrey asking Meghan if she was “silent or silenced”.
The presenter says in response to a comment by the Duchess: “Almost unsurvivable.
“Sounds like there was a breaking point?”
In the footage, Harry, 36, says: “My biggest fear was history repeating itself.”
The teaser then shows Harry and Meghan sitting side by side holding hands as Winfrey says: “You have said some pretty shocking things here.”
