Intervention could show Buckingham Palace is concerned over remarks made by the Duke of Sussex to promote his tell-all book, Spare
The Royal family’s lawyers asked a US broadcaster to hand over the Duke of Sussex’s latest interview, as he expressed concern for royal children and suggested that Queen Elizabeth II was powerless to help him.
A legal firm acting for Buckingham Palace contacted ABC while the Duke’s Good Morning America interview was on air, saying it needed to consider exactly what was said and “the context in which it appears” in order to have the opportunity to respond.
Royal sources insisted it was a standard “right of reply” letter, but it raised the prospect that they were concerned about something specific that the Duke may have said.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace has so far commented on any of the allegations made in the Duke’s memoir, Spare, despite their highly personal and potentially damaging nature.
However, the Queen Consort is widely reported to be the King’s “red line”.
In his ITV interview on Sunday evening, the Duke repeated a claim, also made in his book, that Camilla leaked a story about her first meeting with Prince William to the press.
He has also alleged that his own interests were “sacrificed on her PR altar” and referred to her as a “villain” who left “bodies in the street” as she strove to rehabilitate her image.
It is a matter of public record that the Queen Consort did not leak the story about meeting William. The details were leaked, inadvertently, by Camilla’s own private secretary, who was eventually sacked over the incident.
Palace lawyers asked both ABC and CBS, which also broadcast an interview with the Duke on Sunday evening, for a copy of the Duke’s interviews but the requests were declined.
The Duke has faced criticism for making a slew of intimate family revelations in his memoir.
But he insisted on Good Morning America that the book, which is officially published on Tuesday, could not make things any worse than they already were.
And despite it all, the Duke did not rule out a future role working for the monarchy, admitting that he and his wife want to support the Commonwealth and that was “of course on the table”.
The pre-recorded interview was the third to be broadcast within 24 hours as the Duke embarked on a media blitz to promote his book.
It will be followed on Tuesday with an interview in People magazine and a live appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York.
The Duke was challenged on the view that he had “sold his family out” with his book, but insisted that he felt it was the only way he could “protect” himself.
He added: “I thought about it long and hard, and as far as I see it the divide couldn’t be greater before this book.
“I genuinely believe that if me and my family can reconcile … but first there has to be compensation and accountability. And if that doesn’t happen, then that’s very sad. But I will focus on my life.”
The Duke adopted a more conciliatory tone towards his step-mother than in previous interviews, insisting that he had “a huge amount of compassion” for Camilla.
He said that any deals or trading of stories that happened many years ago had likely taken place because she was “led to believe” it was the best way to rehabilitate her reputation.
“We haven’t spoken for a long time. I love every member of my family, despite the differences, so when I see her we’re perfectly pleasant with each other,” he said.
“I don’t look at her as an evil stepmother. I see someone who married into this institution and has done everything that she can to improve her own reputation and her own image for her own sake.”
The Duke admitted that he harboured hopes of one day being “joined at the hip” with his brother again, but alleged that the prospect would “terrify” the press.
He also repeated his claim that the family would not find peace “until the truth is out there”.
He added: “There’s a lot that I can forgive, but there needs to be a conversation in order for reconciliation, and part of that has to be accountability.
"I just hope that there’s a way that we can have a conversation that is trusted within that conversation that isn’t then spilled to the British press. That’s where I am."
The Duke blamed the press for driving a wedge between Meghan and the Princess of Wales, suggesting that media coverage influenced how the royals behaved more than their own personal experiences.
He alleged that William was “jealous” of his position as the spare, saying: "But I have more freedom than he does, right?
“So his life is planned out for him. I have more flexibility to be able to choose the life that I wanted."
The Duke admitted that he wished he had been given the opportunity to do some form of therapy in the wake of his mother’s death, so he could have spoken about her and celebrated her life.
He said he probably would have partied less and taken fewer drugs in order to “find a feeling or numb a feeling”.