In a new cover story for Vanity Fair titled 'The Royal Family's Continental Rift,' royal experts look back at Prince William's falling out with Prince Harry and what it means for the future of the monarchy. Many of the outlet's sources believe Harry and Meghan' Markle's early popularity with the public of the Commonwealth lead to an internal conflict within The Firm.
Those who tuned into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey will recall Harry briefly discussing this issue. Harry told Oprah that his family had been welcoming to Meghan until they “got to see how incredible she is at the job” during their first royal tour, which saw them visit multiple countries in the South Pacific, back in 2019. “That brought back memories," Harry said, implying the connection was a negative one.
When Harry's parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, went on their own first royal tour shortly after they were married, Diana infamously upstaged Charles on every stop. “The princess had everything going for her except the ability to not upstage the prince,” Stephen Barry, the valet of Prince Charles, once said.
Anna Pasternak, the author of The Real Wallis Simpson: A New History of the American Divorcee Who Became the Duchess of Windsor, said that like Diana before them, Harry and Meghan "were suddenly too electric" for The Firm's liking. “They made the Cambridges seem dowdy, suburban, and rather dull," she added. "That does not go down well in the palace.”
After feeling like the Palace was no longer on their side, Harry and Meghan ultimately decided to step down from their official roles within the Royal Family. Following their exit, The Firm “started to push Meghan and Harry away completely” to better spotlight William and his wife, Kate Middleton, according to Diane Abbott, the first Black female member of Parliament and former shadow home secretary.
Harry and Meghan now reside in California and are carving out a new path for themselves outside the palace. They're currently expecting their second child, a baby girl, due early this summer.
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