Harry says being third wheel to William and Kate was ‘fun but slightly awkward’
Duke of Sussex claims ‘stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really introducing or welcoming’ his wife Meghan Markle into the fold
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Duke of Sussex has spoken about feeling like a “third wheel” after his brother, the Prince of Wales, married Kate Middleton.
In a widely publicised ITV interview with Tom Bradby, Prince Harry spoke about the rift between him and his wife, Meghan Markle, and William and the Princess of Wales.
“I had put a lot of hope in the idea that it’d be William and Kate and me and whoever,” he explained.
“I thought the four of us would bring me and William closer together… we could go out and do work together, which I did a lot as the third wheel to them, which was fun at times but also, I guess slightly awkward at times as well.”
He continued by saying that William and Kate wouldn’t have expected him to get involved with “someone like Meghan” and suggested that his brother and sister-in-law’s behaviour towards her was affected by that.
“Some of the way that they were acting or behaving definitely felt to me as though unfortunately that stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really introducing or welcoming her in,” he said.
Pushed by Bradby to elaborate, he said: “Well, American actress, divorced, biracial, [there are] all different parts to that and what that can mean. But if you are, like a lot of my family do, reading the press, the British tabloids, at the same time as living the life, then there is a tendency where you could actually end up living in the tabloid bubble rather than the actual reality.”
The Independent has contacted the Prince and Princess of Wales’s repesentatives for comment.
In the same interview, Harry discussed his criticism of his and William’s father, King Charles, along with the reason he wanted to leave the UK with Meghan.
The broadcast comes after the duke reportedly claimed in his new book that William “lunged” at him during peace talks with their father after Prince Philip’s funeral, during a row about his and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
In his Netflix documentary with Meghan, Harry also claimed that William “screamed and shouted at him” during a “terrifying” row in front f the late Queen.
A biographer has suggested that Spare and the row between members of the royal family could be “the beginning of the end of the monarchy”.