PRINCE Philip refused to get involved in Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s crunch talks and told the Queen: “I’ll be soon out of it.”
The Duke of Edinburgh sympathised with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but thought they were wrong to quit royal duties and move to the US, his friend and biographer Gyles Brandreth has claimed.
Read our live blog for the very latest news on Prince Philip’s death…
Philip admired Harry for his service career and thought of him as a “good man”, the biographer said.
It seems Philip was also sympathetic to Harry’s desire to “do this own thing in his own way”, adding “people have to lead their lives as they think best”.
But the Duke chose not to get involved with the Sandringham Summit, in which details of the Sussexes’ departure were discussed.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Brandreth said Philip replied to the rift by commenting: “I’ll soon be out of it and not before time.”
It comes as…
- Harry may be forced to isolate away from Meghan when he returns to the US
- BBC receives 100,000 complaints about coverage of Philip’s death
- Prince Harry staying at Frogmore Cottage after arriving in UK
- William says his children “will miss great-granpa”
- Queen “relying on Andrew after Philip’s death”
- Philip asked Charles “three things” before passing away
The royal biographer also revealed Philip, who died on Friday aged 99, thought Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview was “madness”.
Mr Brandreth said the fact the interview was aired while Philip was is in hospital “did not trouble him”.
But he added: “What did worry him was the couple’s preoccupation with their own problems and their willingness to talk about them in public.
“Give TV interviews by all means,’ he said, ‘but don’t talk about yourself’.
“That was one of his rules. I know he shared it with his children. I imagine he shared it with his grandchildren, too.”
The Duke of Sussex arrived in the UK yesterday to make sure he could attend his grandad’s funeral on Saturday.
He was seen getting off a British Airways flight from Los Angeles that arrived at Heathrow at 1.15pm.
The 36-year-old, wearing chinos and a jacket plus a black face mask, was met by security staff with police cars also on the tarmac.
He was put into a black Range Rover and whisked away.
Sources had earlier confirmed he was due back imminently to quarantine in time for the duke of Edinburgh’s farewell at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on April 17.
After the death of her husband, The Queen has declared a two-week royal mourning period.
An insider said: “Family conversations now will be on the passing of Prince Philip – and nothing else.
“The Queen has declared royal mourning for two weeks so it’s quite clear that is the focus.
“Conversations will be private but the focus will be on emotional matters of dealing with a father and grandfather.”
Harry, sixth in line to the throne, was at his £11million Montecito mansion in California when he was told the news of Prince Philip’s death on Friday morning.
Sources close to the couple said Meghan, 39, wanted to join her husband but was advised against travelling by her doctor as she is pregnant with their second child.
When he returns to the US, Harry may have to isolate away from Meghan for 14 days because of Covid-19 rules around pregnant women in the US.
