PRINCE William’s staff planted stories that he was worried about Prince Harry’s mental health, a royal author has claimed.
The behind the scenes briefings were made after the Duke of Sussex sensationally told ITV’s Tom Brady the pair were on “different paths”, Harry’s biographer Omid Scobie alleges.
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Harry hinted at the strained relationship in an ITV documentary about him and Meghan Markle during their ten-day tour of Africa with son Archie in 2019.
Scobie, the co-author of Finding Freedom, told a new documentary about the William and Harry’s feud ‘Harry & William: What Went Wrong?’ that stories began appeared soon after.
“I would say that it was no coincidence that it was shortly after that aired, even the next day, there were source quotes that came from a senior aide at Kensington Palace saying that William was worried about his brother’s mental health,” he said.
“That fed off such an ugly thing for Harry and it did not go unnoticed. Now whether William directed that or not, no one will ever know, but it came from his household that he is the boss of.”
But he did not provide evidence to support his claims that palace aides or anyone connected to William was responsible for the alleged briefings.
Scobie has been an outspoken defender of the Duchess of Sussex and he told the programme she came into the Royal family “driven and ready to work and that immediately ruffled feathers”.
“She’s a woman well into her 30s: I think she’s proven to herself and the people she’s worked with up until that point that she knows what she’s doing,” he said.
“She was certainly not someone who was going to change herself just to please the people around her.
“I felt they also had to be reminded: ‘You’re not the stars of the show here. There is a hierarchy and you don’t come very high in it’.”
It comes a the The feuding royal brothers were reunited at at ceremony to unveil a statue to Princess Diana on what would have been their mother’s 60th birthday.
During the interview with Bradby, Harry confirmed speculation that a rift had opened up between the once close brothers.
Harry said the pressure on the royals means “inevitably stuff happens”.
He added: “But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers — and we’re certainly on different paths at the moment.
“But I’ll certainly always be there for him as I know he’ll always be there for me.
“We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy.
“But I love him dearly and the majority of the stuff is created out of nothing. But as brothers, you have good days, you have bad days.”
During Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the Duke and Duchess both spoke of the difficulties of life in the spotlight.
Meghan told how she tried to adopt the Royal Family’s stiff upper lip — but found it “really damaging”.
