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Prince Charles wanted to issue a ‘point by point’ rebuttal after Harry and Meghan interview

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Updated on June 26, 2021

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Prince Charles allegedly intended to give a point-by-point response to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s explosive tell-all with Oprah Winfrey — but the royal family opted not to engage in a “tit-for-tat” battle.

The 72-year-old was allegedly “deeply” offended by the racist allegations, as well as Harry’s assertion that Charles had stopped answering his calls.

Katie Nicholl reported that both the Prince of Wales, 72, and Prince William, 38, were “keen to correct some” of the accusations made against The Firm by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, 36 and 39, respectively.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle claimed racism pushed them out of the United Kingdom and that their son Archie was refused the title of prince because he is mixed-race.

Meghan also claimed that Kate Middleton left her in tears after a disagreement about bridesmaid gowns.

“My understanding is that Prince Charles did want to issue a more detailed statement [in response] to the Oprah interview and possibly address some of those issues point by point. But there was an evening to think about things and in the end, it was decided that a shorter statement would be better, [and] that going at things point by point could be potentially more damaging and give more ammunition for the row to continue,” Nicholl explains.

“I think Prince Charles and Prince William were keen to correct some of the things that the couple had said,” Katie Nicholl said, speaking to ET.

Harry made numerous allegations against his father, including that Charles stopped answering his calls for a period after “I took matters into my own hands” about his family’s departure from working royal life.

In the Winfrey interview, Harry also alleged that Charles cut him and his family off financially .

“Prince Charles was particularly frustrated by the suggestion that financially he just cut the couple off, when if you speak to sources in Charles’ camp, that wasn’t the case. He did continue funding them for quite some time after they moved first to Canada and then to America,” Nicholl notes. “So yes, I think there was at one point the feeling that they did want to address more than just the issue of race.”

The royal family issued an official statement after the interview, stating, “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.”

Concerning reports of family rifts, Nicholl observes that the royals have been more unified this year as they strive to serve during the coronavirus epidemic and after Meghan and Harry’s departure.

“I’m not sure there’s truth to the queen being frustrated with Prince Charles,” Nicholl says. “I think in all of this, certainly over the past year, both as a result of the pandemic and as a result of Megxit, I think what you’re seeing is a very closely aligned, top tier royals, the queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William, really working as a unit together. I think there isn’t discord there. I think they’re coming at this from the same place and working together as a team.”

‘If you speak to sources in Charles’ camp, that wasn’t the case,’ she explained. ‘He did continue funding them for quite some time after they moved first to Canada and then to America.

‘So yes, I think there was at one point the feeling that they did want to address more than just the issue of race.’

The queen said: “the whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for harry and Meghan.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. Whilst some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately,” she added.

“There were different reactions when the palace was working out what to do,” a source told the outlet. “One, to take the Queen’s view, to issue the quiet statement saying we are unhappy to hear they were unhappy. But Prince Charles wanted to rebut, point by point, the claims that had been made,” the source said, adding that the royal family decided against that.”