Prince Harry says he was 'heartbroken' when William 'broke brotherly promise'

15 December 2022, 15:21 | Updated: 15 December 2022, 16:58

Prince Harry said he was 'heartbroken' when the brotherly promise he had made with Prince William was broken
Prince Harry said he was 'heartbroken' when the brotherly promise he had made with Prince William was broken. Picture: Getty
Alice Dear

By Alice Dear

Prince Harry has spoken about his fallout with Prince William in the latest episodes of his and Meghan Markle's Netflix documentary.

Prince Harry has said it was "heartbreaking" when a promise he had made with his older brother, Prince William, was broken.

The Duke of Sussex spoke out about his relationship with the Prince of Wales in the final three episodes of his and Meghan Markle's Netflix documentary series.

In the episodes, Harry claims that he and his older brother made an agreement years ago that their communication staff would not work against each other after seeing the same happen to their mother, Princess Diana, and their father, King Charles III.

However, Harry claims this is what William's team did.

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Prince Harry and Prince William watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018
Prince Harry and Prince William watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Picture: Getty

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Speaking in the documentary, Harry said: "I have 30 years experience of looking behind the curtain and seeing how this system works and how it runs.

"I mean, just constant briefings about the members of the family, about favours, about inviting the press in. It's a dirty game.

"There is leaking but there's also planting of stories. So if the comms team want to be able to remove a negative story about their principle, they will trade and give you something about someone else's principle. So the offices end up working against each other."

He went on to explain: "William and I both saw what happened in our dad's office, and we made an agreement that we would never let that happen to our office."

Later in the episodes, Harry adds: "I would far rather get destroyed in the press than play along with this game or this business of trading [negative stories].

"To see my brother’s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking."

Prince Harry speaks about life within the Royal Family in his and Meghan Markle's Netflix series
Prince Harry speaks about life within the Royal Family in his and Meghan Markle's Netflix series. Picture: Netflix

Harry also spoke about a time when his brother "screamed and shouted" at him during conversations about Meghan and himself leaving the Royal Family.

He said: "It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that just simply weren’t true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in."

Prince Harry and Prince William at the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace in 2021
Prince Harry and Prince William at the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace in 2021. Picture: Getty

The father-of-two also claimed that he did not know about the statement put out by the palace in January 2020 which was released as a joint message from the brothers.

The statement came after reports appeared in the press that William had "bullied" Harry out of the Royal Family.

Talking about the moment he saw the statement, he said: “I couldn’t believe it. No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that...[Meghan] burst into floods of tears, because within four hours they were happy to lie to protect my brother, and yet they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”

You can watch the final three episodes of Harry & Meghan on Netflix now.

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