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The Sandringham Summit saw the coming together of four of the most senior royals — Queen Elizabeth II, then-Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry — for a discussion about the planned departure of Harry and his wife Meghan Markle from royal life. There was a huge amount of secrecy surrounding the important meeting, with details largely remaining under wraps. However, during their recent Netflix documentary series, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave an insight into the private gathering, with Harry accusing his older brother of screaming and shouting at him during the heated discussion.
The Prince told the documentary, titled Harry & Meghan, that he had “such happy memories of Sandringham; that was where we spent every Christmas,” but added: “And now I was back there in very different circumstances.”
“I went in with the same proposal that we’d already made publicly,” he continued. “But once I got there, I was given five options. One being, all in, no change. Five being, all out. I chose option three in the meeting — half in, half out — have our own jobs, but also work in support of the Queen.
“It became very clear, very quickly, that goal was not up for discussion or debate. 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.”
Russell Myers, royal editor at the Daily Mirror, has shared his sympathy for William, who he argued “stood to lose the most”.
READ MORE: Prince Harry quick to correct himself after apparent ‘misogynistic’ slip-up over Meghan
William allegedly screamed and shouted at his younger brother during the infamous summit (Image: Getty Images)
Meghan and Harry opened up about their experiences during their six-part docuseries (Image: Netflix)
Prince Harry is seen visibly upset after receiving a text message from Prince William following his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, adding: “I wish I knew what to do.” The dramatic scenes are from the final episode of the couple’s documentary series on Netflix.
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During an episode of the Pod Save The King podcast earlier this month, Mr Myers said: “One thing really struck me about this Sandringham Summit [was] when he’s talking about William shouting because it’s his family that is going to be affected by this. He’s going to take on a lot more responsibility.”
He added that William and his father King Charles III “were the ones who had the most at stake”.
Zoe Forsey, co-host of the podcast, said: “To accuse his brother of screaming and shouting at him, and to say it was terrifying, is really quite harsh. They’re very powerful words to describe anyone and give a real insight into what that meeting was like.”
Mr Myers continued: “I’ve got a bit of sympathy for William here because he stood to lose the most. Charles is probably going to plod along and his life isn’t going to be that much affected, but William’s reign is going to be really affected.
“He’s lost his wingman. He’s lost half of the Fab Four — two people who could have really taken some of the strain in order for him to spend more time on his projects and his family, which is really important to him, and the knock-on to his kids as well. So no wonder he was a bit heaved.”
William and Charles would be the ‘most affected’ by the Sussexes’ exit (Image: Getty)
According to reports, William and his wife Kate, Princess of Wales, reportedly have not watched Harry & Meghan, instead choosing to focus on their royal duties.
“William and Kate’s aides have briefed them on the show, but don’t expect the couple to sit down in their cottage with a bowl of popcorn to tune in themselves,” a Page Six source claimed.
Elsewhere in the documentary, Harry claimed his brother broke a long-standing agreement to never let their offices brief against each other in the press.
“There’s leaking, but there’s also planting of stories,” Harry explained. “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.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales have continued to focus on their royal duties (Image: Getty)
He continued: “It’s kind of a weird understanding or acceptance that happens. And you can always say: ‘I didn’t know about this.’ Or, ‘This would never happen. Are you suggesting that I condone this?’ It’s like no, but what I am asking is have you done anything to stop it? And the answer is no.”
The Prince then noted that he and William “made an agreement that we would never let that happen to our office,” which the Prince of Wales supposedly broke. As Harry put it: “I would far rather get destroyed by the press than play along with this game, or this business of trading. And 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.”
According to a royal expert, the documentary has provoked “a lot of resentment” within the royal household. Soon after it aired, Katie Nicholl, author of The New Royals, told Entertainment Tonight that “tempers are flaring”, saying William would be affected most profoundly.
She said: “William will be taking this very personally. I think he’s incredibly upset and feels very badly betrayed by his brother.”
The brothers supposedly had an agreement when they were both working royals (Image: Getty)
However, while the allegations made could damage William’s reputation, many have advised that he refrain from hitting back at his brother.
California-based PR and reputation management expert Eric Schiffer believes the Prince of Wales should not retaliate for the time being. Last week, he told Express.co.uk: “The smart strategy to recover here is to not engage directly, to allow time to pass and to continue to do the work on behalf of the Palace not unlike what Meghan and Harry were doing, which is to extend to younger generations on issues that matter to them. And allow these bullets to get fired because at some point there is nothing more to say.”
He also believes that, in the long term, Buckingham Palace will create further distance between UK-based royals and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. He said: “What I anticipate the Palace will do is to lower the official relevance over time for Harry and Meghan.”
The Royal Family have refused to comment on any of the claims made by the Sussexes.
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