Prince Harry reveals rift with William during Oprah interview
He said he hoped time would heal the wounds between them
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Your support makes all the difference.Prince Harry says that a distance has formed between him and his brother Prince William as he has stepped back from the royal family.
He said the relationship is one of "space at the moment,” but reiterated his love for his brother and said “time heals all things, hopefully."
“As I’ve said before, I love William to bits,” he said. “He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together. We have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.”
They share having lived with the constraints of being members of the royal family, but Prince Harry acknowledged they’ve handled that experience differently.
Follow the latest updates on Oprah’s interview with Meghan and Harry here
“My father and my brother, they are trapped,” he told the interviewer. “They don’t get to leave. And I have huge compassion for that.”
Much of the conversation on Sunday revolved around how Harry and Meghan were treated by the rest of the royal family, and both described feeling abandoned as the tabloid press ravaged them with gossip and racist stories about the Duchess.
“There was a way of doing this, but for us, for this union, and the specifics around her race, there was an opportunity, many opportunities, for my family to show some public support,” he said, referencing the press coverage of his wife, which often veered into ugly racist undertones.
He pointed to how in 2019, 72 British lawmakers came together to condemn the “colonial” coverage the press had directed at Meghan, but felt his family hadn’t done enough to join them.
Privately, he said a family member also made a shocking comments about the skin tone of his then-unborn son, and how that would affect their place in the family. The Duchess is biracial.
“That conversation I am never going to share ... but at the time it was awkward, I was in shock,” Harry said.
The alleged lack of support was especially disappointing from his father, leaving Harry feeling “really let down” because Prince Charles had gone through “something similar” during his marriage with the late Princess Diana.
“He knows what pain feels like, and Archie’s his grandson,” Harry said, “but at the same time, I of course, I will always love him. I think there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened, and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.”
For their part, Prince William and the rest of the royal family was said to be upset that Prince Harry and his wife sat for the highly publicized interview.
William was reportedly “beyond livid” with the pair, and has been in contact with the Queen and Prince Charles about the subject.
The Independent has reached out to the royal family for comment.
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