Prince Charles wanted to release ‘point by point’ response to bombshell claims

Prince Charles wanted to release a ‘point by point’ response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell claims in their tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview but decided against it because he didn’t want to give ‘more ammunition’, a royal expert has claimed.

Katie Nicholl noted that both the Prince of Wales, 72, and Prince William, 38, were ‘keen to correct some’ of the allegations made against The Firm by the Duke, 36, and Duchess of Sussex, 39. 

During their interview this month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said racism drove them out of Britain and claimed their son Archie was denied the title of prince because he is mixed-race.

Meghan also claimed that Kate Middleton left her in tears during a row over bridesmaid dresses and Prince Harry accused his father Prince Charles of refusing to take his calls when the pair emigrated to the US last year.   

‘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,’ Katie Nicholl said, speaking to ET.

Katie Nicholl noted that both the Prince of Wales, 72, and Prince William, 38, were ‘keen to correct some’ of the allegations made against the Royal Family by the Duke, 35, and Duchess of Sussex, 39. Pictured, the tell-all interview

‘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.

‘I think Prince Charles and Prince William were keen to correct some of the things that the couple had said.’

She went on to say that Prince Charles was ‘particularly frustrated’ by the suggestion that he cut the couple off financially.

‘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. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to the vaccination centre at Westminster Abbey, London, to pay tribute to the efforts of those involved in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout on Tuesday 

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

It comes after CBS presenter Gayle King said she had spoken to the Sussexes who told her that Harry had talked to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales after the interview. 

But she said the conversations were ‘not productive’ and the Sussexes were keen for the ‘royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant’. 

Ms King, 66, who is also close friends with Oprah, failed to give any examples of the stories she was referring to, but added that Meghan had ‘documents to back up everything that she said on Oprah’s interview’.

She told CBS This Morning: ‘Well I’m not trying to break news, but I did actually call them to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too. 

‘The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.

‘And I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keep saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still. 

‘No one in the Royal Family has talked to Meghan yet, at this particular time. 

‘And I think it’s frustrating for them to see that it’s a racial conversation about the Royal Family when all they wanted all along was for the royals to intervene and tell the Press to stop with the unfair, inaccurate, false stories that definitely have a racial slant.

‘And until you can acknowledge that, I think it’s going to be hard to move forward. But they both want to move forward with this and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that is Harry’s family.’   

The Duke of Cambridge was the first royal to personally respond to the racism allegations days after the interview aired when he spoke about mental health during a visit the School21 in east London. 

At the time, he revealed that he had not spoken to his brother since it came out, but added that he ‘will do’. 

It was also the first engagement for Kate since she was accused by Meghan of making her cry in the bombshell tell-all chat.  

Meghan said: ‘She (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers’. 

During the Oprah interview, Meghan also revealed details about their strained relationship, saying of pictures of them laughing at Wimbledon, ‘Nothing is what it looks like.’

She added that Kate being called ‘waity Katie’ in the press couldn’t compare to the alleged racism she faced. 

Meghan also made allegations that she felt suicidal and turned to the palace for help. 

The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah she ‘couldn’t be left alone’ and told her husband she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ before claiming the Buckingham Palace HR department ignored her plea for help because she wasn’t a ‘paid employee’.   

Describing how she considered ending her life believing it ‘was better for everyone’, Meghan said: 

‘I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. 

‘And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. I remember how he just cradled me. I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. 

‘I said that ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere’. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution’.

She said that after confiding in her husband, she was forced to go to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event in January 2019, claiming photos from that night ‘haunt me’. 

She told Oprah she later reached out to one of the best friends of Diana, Princess of Wales, because she felt unsupported by the palace.

She said: ‘When I joined that family, that was the last time I saw my passport, my driving licence, my keys – all of that gets turned over’. 

Meghan said Harry had ‘saved my life’ by agreeing to move to Los Angeles.

During the broadcast, Prince Harry hinted at the extent of the alleged rift between the two brothers, claiming that their relationship was now ‘space,’ but added he hoped time would be a healer. 

He went on to claim he was ‘on different paths’ to William and spoke about his brother was ‘trapped’ in the Royal Family.   

Harry also said he felt ‘very let down’ by his father Prince Charles, accusing him of refusing to take his calls and and then ‘cut him off’ financially when they emigrated.

He said: ‘My father and brother. They’re both trapped’ and added that his mother Diana would be ‘angry and sad’ that he felt he had to leave the royal family, but ‘she saw it coming’. 

Harry said: ‘All she’d ever want for us is to be happy’, adding that his wife had ‘saved me’, declaring: 

‘I myself was trapped, as well. I didn’t see a way out’. 

The Queen broke her silence on the interview, voicing her ‘concern’ over the issues raised, ‘particularly that of race’, although the statement added that ‘some recollections may vary’.  

There has been much speculation about which member of the royal family they were accusing of racism. But during the interview the couple would not be drawn on who had deeply offended them.

Harry said: ‘That conversation, I am never going to share. At the time it was awkward, I was a bit shocked.’