Harry's move sparked 'furious reaction' from key royal who refused to see him
When Harry and Meghan dropped a bombshell, there was one member of the Royal Family who was so furious at the Duke of Sussex that they refused to see him at all, a new documentary has claimed
It's been over five years since Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, announced their intention to step back as full-time working royals - and at the time, their decision sent shockwaves across the UK.
For the couple, things inside the monarchy had become untenable, and something needed to change - but for the rest of the Royal Family, their public announcement that they wanted to adopt a half-in, half-out approach to royal life presented a massive set of issues.
The Sussexes had been spending time in Canada before their shock announcement, and Meghan had to return to the country to be with Archie - leaving Harry to attend what has been dubbed as the Sandringham Summit to hash out the details of their exit by himself.
A new documentary on Channel Five - Megxit: Inside the Sandringham Summit - has seen experts and commentators dive into what really happened behind closed doors at the summit, and what the long-term impacts of it have been on the monarchy.
One expert revealed that there was allegedly one senior member of the House of Windsor who was left utterly "horrified" by Harry's decision to step back: his grandfather, Prince Philip. Royal author Andrew Morton claimed in the new documentary, "Prince Philip is someone who doesn't take fools gladly, and he was horrified that they had come to a situation where the Royal Family were deciding whether to split up or not."
Another expert explained the late Duke of Edinburgh's feelings were so strong that he left Sandringham altogether, rather than come face-to-face with his grandson Harry. "Philip was so angry," explained journalist Emily Andrews, "that he refused to even be there. I was told that he just couldn't bring himself to see his grandson, he thought it was a huge dereliction of duty."
Whilst Prince Philip always demurred to the authority of his wife, the late Queen Elizabeth, when it came to matters of the crown, when it came to private matters, said to be "very much the head of the family".
Prince Philip had a very close relationship with both Prince Harry and his elder brother Prince William - as well as the rest of his six other grandchildren - and he was called "brilliantly effective" at helping the two brothers when they tragically lost their mother in 1997.
Author Tina Brown wrote: "A member of the Balmoral staff [where the boys were when they received the news Diana had died] noted that Prince Philip, who had effectively lost his own mother at the age of 10 when she was committed for three years to an asylum in Switzerland, was brilliantly effective with his grandsons, offering them gruff tenderness and outdoor activities like stalking and hiking to tire them out".
Equally, the Independent reports that during the planning of Diana's funeral, Prince Philip reminded those involved in organising the day that "It's about the boys, they've lost their mother." He also helped them on the day of the funeral itself, when he told them he would join them in the funeral procession, saying "I'll walk if you walk."
However, despite their close bond, the year following the Sandringham Summit and Harry's decision to leave royal life behind that Prince Philip passed away - only a month after the Sussexes sat down with Oprah Winfrey for their bombshell interview detailing the reasons why they had chosen to walk away.
Prince Harry returned for his grandfather's funeral, which, subject to social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had a limited number of guests.
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He paid tribute to his grandfather in a moving statement, "He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke. But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right 'til the end."
Megxit: Inside the Sandringham Summit, Saturday 31 st May, 8pm. Watch | Stream on 5.
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